Momo 'མོག་མོག'

Momo in the Daily life of a typical Tibetan

A typical life of a Himalayan person starts in the morning with a full mug of butter tea taken with salt, with or without milk and with or without a pinch of black pepper. Then he (the Tibetans, Bhutia, Drukpa, and Lepcha) usually eat tukpa (noodles in soup), skiu or momo (small dumplings of wheat flour with meats), baked potatoes, tsampa (ground roasted barley grains), chhurpi (cottage cheese), kargyong and gyuma (sausages), and chyang (alcoholic beverage) for lunch and dinner (Majupuria, 1990).

Traditional momos are made with simple white flour and water, but in modern day, baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or yeast is also added to give a doughy texture to the momo.

Other Facts:

• Most Tibetans believe in Tibetan Buddhism.  The Mahayana School of Buddhism was introduced into Tibet in the seventh century and continue to be the guiding religion of the Tibetans.  Infact, the Yellow Sect is the sect followed by most Tibetans in China and believes in the reincarnation of living Buddhas.
• However, contradictory to their religion that discourages killing, due to the harsh climate, Tibetan diet contains a lot of dairy product and Yak meat, but few vegetables and very few spices and chemical preservatives. However, such extremely cold temperature is useful in preserving food. For instance, meat is dried for several weeks in Tibet to give it a special flavor and thus make momo tastier. Hence, the “pure and natural” with very little spices is considered to be “full of natural goodness. (Dorje, 1985).