Chicken Steamed Momo

Monsoons have finally arrived in India after a long long wait! I am sure there are many of you out there who love to savour on a plate of steaming hot momos in the rains. With Swiggy and Zomato delivering to your doorstep, you don’t even need to venture out in the puddles in search of momos. But what if I tell you that these momos could be easily made at home from scratch? And what more, you could even experiment with your favourite fillings in them. From soya to paneer for the vegetarians, from minced chicken to pork for the non vegetarians, the limits are endless. (What an oxymoron!) For those with a sweet tooth, you could even stuff some nutella and make your favourite chocolate momo. Yes, today’s post will be all about making steamed momos at home. Read on to know, how a friend of mine taught and helped me in making momos at home. Sonali, this post is dedicated to you and our endless recipe experiments!

Ingredients

For the cover/dough

• Refined flour/maida – 2 cups
• Salt – One teaspoon
• Oil/Ghee – Two teaspoons
• Lukewarm Water – to knead the dough

For the filling

• Minced chicken – 250 gms
• Spring Onions – One bunch
• Capsicum – One medium sized
• Carrots – One medium sized
• Onion – 1 medium sized
• Garlic – 4-5 pods
• Ginger – Half inch piece grated
• Soy Sauce – Half teaspoon
• Salt – To taste
• Maggi Masala – One Packet
• Black Pepper – One teaspoon
• Oil – One teaspoon

Procedure

1. Combine the flour along with salt and oil/ghee. Knead it into a soft dough using lukewarm water. The dough should not be sticky, but should be soft enough. Cover with a muslin cloth and keep aside for 15 -20 minutes.
2. Cut the vegetables into small pieces. Chop the garlic pods, onions and spring onions. Dice the capsicum and carrots. Blanch the carrot into boiling water for around 5 minutes.
3. Heat some oil In a non stick pan. Add the chopped garlic, grated ginger and spring onion shallots. Fry for around 2 minutes. Then add the onion and capsicum followed by the minced chicken. Add the blanched carrots. Add salt to taste. Add the maggi masala and soy sauce. Stir fry for 5 minutes. Finish it off with black pepper powder and spring onions. Let it cool. 
4. Now punch in the dough for 2 minutes with some flour. Dust some flour on a flat surface, and make medium sized balls out of the dough. Roll them out as thinly as possible. The shapes need not be perfectly round. Now, using a round shaped bowl with sharp edges, cut out equal shapes from it.
5. Now hold one of the dough wrappers in the palm and fill them with a teaspoon of the filling. Gather the edges of the momo and seal them with a light hand. Pinch and twist as you make the pleats. Shape them as you want. Remove all excess dough out of the gathered pleats. Ensure that the momo is closed properly and is not overstuffed or under-stuffed. Click here to see how this step is to be achieved
6. Heat some water in a steamer. Oil the steamer rack where the momos will be placed. This is very important, so that the momos dont stick to the steamer. Once you have finished shaping the momos, brush them with oil. Now place the momos in the steamer. Leave some gap in between the momos, so that there is sufficient space to expand. Steam it for 20-25 minutes, till they are done. 
7. Serve the momos hot with tomato garlic chutney. You may also fry them before serving. 

For the Tomato-Garlic Chutney recipe, please refer to my Lahsuni Paneer Tikka Recipe

P.S. – Sonali texted me a few days back to announce that she had made momos using aata/wheat flour at home (since her dad is allergic to maida), and they turned out to be better in taste than the ones made from maida/refined flour. I am yet to experiment whole-wheat flour momos at home. In case you would like to give it a try, do let us know in the comments section below. And please do not forget to follow us on instagram for more recipe updates. Click here for my instagram handle.

Until I post another recipe for TicTalkToe, this is S.P. signing off.