Momo (food)

Momo is the colloquial form of the Tibetan word "mog mog".[8] It is possible that this Tibetan word is borrowed from the Chinese term momo (馍馍), a name traditionally used in northwestern Chinese dialects for bread.[9] The word mo (馍) itself means food related to flour.[10] As can be seen in dishes from Shaanxi cuisine like roujiamo and paomo. It could also be possible that it derived from Nepal Bhasa word mome (मम) which means cooking by steaming. The history of momo in Nepal dates back to as early as the fourteenth century.[11]

As for the Himalayan momo, it is not quite known whether it spread from the Kathmandu valley of Nepal to Tibet or the other way around. This dish was initially popular among the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, one prevalent belief is that traveling Nepali Newar merchants took the recipe of momo from Tibet where the Nepali Newar Merchants used to go to trade and brought it back home to Nepal.[12] Some argue that momo was introduced in Tibet by a Nepalese Newari princess who was married to a Tibetan king in the late fifteenth century, since in Newari, one of Nepal's oldest languages, ‘mome’ means cooking by steaming.[11] In Tibet, the filling of the dish was typically meat, such as yak and occasionally potatoes and cheese. Traditional Tibetan momo is quite different from the Nepalese one as the former was made with a thicker dough and with little to no spices except salt. However, after arriving in the Indo-Gangetic Plains, the meat became chicken, and mixed vegetables momo was introduced to feed the large population of vegetarian Hindus.[13] Unproven, but substantiated by the dates and references to momo in colloquial references, the civil war in Nepal pushed out the Nepali diaspora to seek a livelihood in India, which further increased the prevalence of Himalayan style momo in the southern half of India especially in the cities of Chennai and Bangalore.

Momo are common in Gilgit region in Ladakh

Momo is a type of steamed dumpling with some form of filling, most commonly chicken (traditionally yak, but often chicken and goat) and it is originally from Tibet. Momo has become a delicacy in Nepal and Tibetan communities in Bhutan, as well the Indian regions of Darjeeling, Ladakh and Sikkim.

A plate of momo from Nepal

A Tibetan woman making momo in Washington, D.C., United States

A simple white-flour-and-water dough is generally preferred to make the outer momo covering. Sometimes, a little yeast or baking soda is added to give a more doughy texture to the finished product.

Traditionally, momo is prepared with ground/minced meat, potatoes, and leek filling. Nowadays, the fillings have become more elaborate and Momo is prepared with virtually any combination of ground meat, vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, paneer cheese, soft chhurpi (local hard cheese) and vegetable and meat combinations.

• Meat: Different types of meat fillings are popular in different regions. In Nepal, Tibet, Ladakh, Sikkim, and Bhutan common meat fillings are pork, chicken, goat and water buffalo. In the Himalayan region of Nepal and India, lamb and yak meat are more common. Minced meat is combined with any or all of the following: onions/shallots, garlic, ginger and cilantro/coriander. Some people also add finely puréed tomatoes and soy sauce.[14]
• Vegetables: Finely chopped cabbage, carrot, soy granules, potato, flat bean (lilva kachori) or chayote (iskush) are used as fillings in India and Nepal.
• Cheese: Usually fresh cheese (paneer) or the traditional soft chhurpi is used. This variety is common in India and Eastern Nepal.
• Khoa: Momo filled with milk solids mixed with sugar are popular as a dessert in the Kathmandu Valley.

The dough is rolled into small circular flat pieces. The filling is enclosed in the circular dough cover either in a round pocket or a half-moon or crescent shape. People prefer meat with a lot of fat because it produces flavourful, juicy momos. A little oil is sometimes added to the lean ground/minced meat to keep the filling moist and juicy. The dumplings are then cooked by steaming over a soup (either a stock based on bones or vegetables) in a momo-making utensil called mucktoo. Momos may also be pan-fried or deep-fried after being steamed.

Momos are traditionally steamed but can also be deep-fried or pan-fried and cooked in soup. It is usually served with chilli garlic sauce and pickled daikon in Tibet. In Nepal, popular dipping sauces include tomato-based chutneys or sesame or peanut or soybean-based sauces called achar. Sauces can be thick or thin in consistency depending on the eatery.[15] In Kathmandu valley, the traditional way of serving momo (called momochā or local momo) is ten ping-pong ball-sized round momo drowned in a sauce called jhol achar, infused with Timur pepper (Nepali pepper, a variety of Sichuan pepper).

List of variations of momo's that has been developed over time:

• C-momo is a version of momo that is steamed or fried then served in chilly sauce.[16]
• Dhapu momo are typically larger and flatter than other versions of momos.[17]
• Gong'a momo is a fried dough that is filled with meat paste.[18]
• Green momo is a type of vegetarian dumpling that is made by a stuffing a mixture of vegetables, cabbage and green beans before being steamed.[16]
• Hoentay is a Bhutanese dumpling made from buckwheat dough wrapper mixed with spinach and cheese.[19]
• Jhol momo has warm or hot tomato-based broth poured over momo made from achar known as Jhol achar (not cooked in the broth[6]). One of the main ingredients of jhol achar is Nepali hog plum (lapsi), but if this is unavailable, lemon or lime juice may be used.
• Kothey momo is a pan-fried version of momo. The dumpling is first filled with meat as well as vegetables and spices. It is first steamed then fried and then served in dipping sauce.
• Mokthuk is another way to serve momos which usually involve using smaller shaped dumplings, where the momos are either cooked in broth for a type of dumpling soup or steamed momos, which are added to the broth.[20]
• Open momo is another Nepalese addition to the variant in that it has a distinct shape which has open holes on the top that can be used to add various sauces and spices.[21]
• Sadheko momo is a mixture of momo with spices and natural ingredients like ginger, garlic, red onions, cumin, coriander, and chillies.[22]
• Shogo momo is a Tibetan variant that is prepared using mashed potato with dough, shaped into balls, with a minced meat filling, served with bread crumbs.[23]
• Tingmo is a type of steamed bread made from flour, yeast and water. Tingmo is a soft and fluffy bread served with savoury dishes such as stews or curries. Unlike other versions of momos, Tingmo does not contain any type of filling.[24]

• 
  Momo in a mucktoo in Kathmandu, Nepal
• 
  Kothey, a pan-fried momo variety from "The Bakery Cafe" in Nepal
• 
  C-momo
• 
  Green Momo
• 
  Jhol Momo
• 
  Mokthuk
• 
  Tingmo

• Baozi
• Jiaozi
• Mantou
• List of dumplings

• Momos: The National Nepali Snack