Momo 'མོག་མོག'

Directions

1. After making the dough, mix all of the ingredients above nicely.
2. Add ½ spoon cumin powder, green chili (based on your preference!), black pepper (a pinch), cinnamon (pinch), clove powder (pinch), butter (1/2 of a quarter) and little bit of olive oil (optional; it just makes the momo juicer) into the mix from step 2.
3. Momo wraps; Round Momos: Use your thumb and forefinger to pinch a small fold in the edge of the circle. Then, leaving the thumb in the same position, gather another pinch of dough from the outside edge with your forefinger. Keep repeating this motion, occasionally using your other thumb to push the filling in towards the center The pinched edge will form a spiral, gradually closing down to a tiny hole that you can pinch shut. When the shape is complete, press the sides lightly to puff it up (Wangmo, 1999).
4. Cook in 15-20 minutes steam heat.
5. Sauce: Heat olive oil. Fry garlic and onion. Add chopped tomatoes into it. While cooking, add 2 cloves of garlic chopped, 1/3 medium sided onion chopped, salt, pepper, chili powder, and timur.
6. Add little bit of sugar. It takes away the sourness of tomato.
7. While eating: Bit a small hole in the dough and suck out the juice, then spoon the sauce into the hole and eat the rest. Yum! Serving: Around 24 pieces.

Traditional Round Momo Preparation

During the preparation process, generally a big pile of dough is place on one side and a big pile of meat filling on the other; a cook uses the last bit of dought for the last bit of filling and has nothing left over. In order to make traditional round momos, you use your thumb and forefinger to pinch a small fold in the edge of the circle. Then, leaving the thumb in the same position, gather another pinch of dough from the outside edge with your forefinger. Keep repeating this motion, occasionally using your other thumb to push the filling in towards the center The pinched edge will form a spiral, gradually closing down to a tiny hole that you can pinch shut. When the shape is complete, press the sides lightly to puff it up (Wangmo, 1999). The closing up of the wrap is humorously connected to many things in Tibetan culture. For instance, if someone talks too much, Tibetans say: KHA MOMO NANGSHIN DHE (pronounced ‘Day’) ‘Keep your mouth like a momo (i.e. closed)’ (Dorje, 1985).

Process of making a moon shaped momo.

1. First, add a bit of water around the inside edge of the wrapper, then add a small spoonful of stuffing.  To make the half moon shape you must use round wrappers (you can just cut them with a cookie cutter if they are square).
2. Next, use your fingers to pinch together a little mountain ridge.
3. Press that ridge down towards you, crimping together the edge.
4. Now create a second ridge by pressing the top layer of dough together again.
5. And fold it over towards you. Look, two pretty mountain ridges.
6. Keep going until you have a line of beautiful, evenly spaced ridges. The momos will naturally curve like the moon as you go.