Momo, म:म: - also known as momo-cha ममचा, is one of the most popular dishes in Nepal.  They are bite-size dumplings made with a spoonful of stuffing wrapped in dough.  Momos are usually steamed, though they are sometimes fried or steam-fried.  The filling of meat or vegetables becomes succulent as it produces an intensively flavored broth sealed inside the wrappers.

This history (origin) of momo in Nepal is uncertain and clearly rustic in their origin.  No one knows precisely how and when the momo traveled or originated in Nepal and why it was named momo.  Since this dish is popular among the Newar community of Kathmandu valley, one prevalent belief is that Newari traders brought momo techniques from Lhasa, Tibet.  They modified the seasonings of the dish with available ingredients, using water buffalo meat, and gave the dish a Nepali name.  Others believe the dish was introduced to Nepali cuisine by Tibetans who migrated to live in the mountains of Nepal.  Whatever its origins, the momo has since evolved to suit the Nepali palate.


Momos are a traditional delicacy in Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Ladakh. They are one of the most popular fast foods in many regions of the Indian Subcontinent especially in places with a significant Nepalese and Tibetan diaspora, such as Assam, Delhi, Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Shillong, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
In Nepal, the traditional momo is prepared with ground meat filling, but over the past several years, this has changed and become more elaborate.  These days, momos are prepared with virtually any combination of ground meat, vegetables, tofu, paneer cheese, vegetable & meat combination. Today, momos  are given fancy names such as meetho momo (मीठो म: म:), swaadista momo (स्वादिस्ट म: म:), raseelo momo (रसीलो म: म:), Himalayan momo (हिमालयन म: म:) and the list goes on and on.  For meat filling, any variety of ground meat, such as goat, lamb, pork, water buffalo, yak, chicken, turkey and sea food combined with fresh herbs and spices can be used for filling. Sometimes two different kinds of meat and vegetables are used to give a different taste. Traditionally Nepalese prefer the meat that has a lot of fat, because it produces intensively flavored juicy momos.  The best momos are always juicy, so sometimes a little oil is added to the leanest types of ground meat to keep the filling moist.  All sorts of vegetables can be used to create the vegetable filling.  The vegetables must be cut into very small pieces, and flavored with fresh herbs and spices and cooked lightly before used for filling. The filling mixture should not be watery, as it will be difficult to seal the dough wrappers as the filling mixture will fall apart. Potatoes and cabbage are a popular vegetable combination.

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