Recipe for Tibetan Momos with Sepen Dipping Sauce

Momos are deeply loved across India, and even though India’s relationship with our neighbours is often tumultuous, our relationship with momos is one of adoration. Read more here.

For a vegetarian variant, replace the chicken with tofu or paneer and use vegetable stock.

Recipe: Tibetan Momos with Sepen Dipping Sauce

(Makes 32-36 momos)
Ingredients

Momo Filling
150g minced chicken
½ cup minced mushroom
¼ cup grated carrot
1 onion, grated
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
½ chicken stock cube 

Momo Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour (maida)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup warm water 

Sepen Sauce
2 tomatoes, chopped
10g coriander
4 cloves garlic
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
½ tbsp red chili powder

Method

To assemble the filling, mix all of the momo filling ingredients together in a bowl. Cover and set aside.

To make the dough, start by combining the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix together well and then slowly add the warm water, ¼ cup at a time, mixing it to make a dough. Knead for 3-5 min, to create a medium-firm dough that is not sticky. Cover the bowl and rest the dough for 30 minutes.

Once rested, divide the dough into quarters, and further divide each quarter into eight small balls. Roll each ball out to a 7-8cm diameter and 0.5cm thickness. Place one teaspoon of filling in the centre, and then using your thumb and forefinger, pinch the edges of the dough together to make a money-bag shape. Now keep this covered as you make the rest of the momos.

Cook the momos by either steaming them for 12-15 minutes, or, by pan frying them. To pan fry them, heat some oil in a frying pan and lay the momos in a single layer. Sear each side for one minute on high, then add ¼ cup water to the pan and cover to cook on a low heat.

To prepare the sepen sauce, blend all the sauce ingredients together in a blender to make a smooth sauce. Adjust salt and chilli to taste.

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