Veg Momos Recipe | Veg Dim Sum

Momos are a very popular street food of North Eastern India, Nepal & Tibet. They are basically steamed dumplings filled with meat. Over the years vegetarian and vegan versions with vegetable filling are also very popular.

Making momos at home is super easy and all you need are some time and patience to get the pleating right. Piping hot dim sum served with a fiery dipping sauce is a delicious, hearty and most satisfying meal on any day.

In this post you will learn to make momos or Tibetan dim sum from scratch with step by step photos, tips and filling variations and a quick momo chutney recipe. Do try out this popular Tibetan recipe at home and enjoy!

I am sure I have stated this many times and here I go saying it again, I love Asian food, especially the street food kinds 🙂 Pot stickers, gobi manchurian, fried rice, noodles are some of my favorites and this momos too are.

I tasted veg momos first in Bangalore with my friend in a small makeshift shop and loved every bite of it. Fiery hot veg filling inside stuffed inside a soft wrapper and steamed to perfection, yum! The dipping sauce or momos chutney served with it was also top notch!

Making good veg momos at home is really easy but take some time and effort. Pleating them can be tricky especially if you are a beginner but it comes easily with practice.

These bite size dumplings are truly worth their time. Potstickers are also steamed dumplings similar to momos with slight differences.

What Are Momos?

The term momo itself means meat stuffed steamed bun. Traditionally momos were prepared only with meat. But as with any vegetarian variation we make veg momos with vegetable stuffing.

These are also known as dim sum was first introduced to me a by a North Eastern colleague who is also my friend. She always said veg momos with spicy momos chutney is the best combination.

So veg momos are basically steamed flour buns wit spicy veg filling. Predominantly cabbage is used as stuffing. Here I have used a mix of cabbage, capsicum and carrots.

There are many types of momos like fried ones, with paneer filling. I also make momos with whole wheat flour most of the time.

According to me the best momos are the steamed ones though 🙂 The crispiness of fresh veggies and soft steamed outer cover is a wonderful combination.

This popular street food of India is literally found in corner of every busy street these days. Do try out this easy veg momos recipe and enjoy! These momos are

tasty & flavorful

Street style bite sized dumplings

Vegan & can be made gluten free

Easy recipe with simple ingredients

About This Recipe

This recipe veg momos is really a good one. It will help you make best street style dumplings with a very delicious veg filling and a super soft, light and perfectly steamed outer dough.

I have been making this recipe for many years and with some fine tuning and tweaks, I have arrived at this best recipe which you will sure love.

Making momos at home is easy though a bit time consuming. The stuffing is a simple vegetable mixture. Only the pleating part takes some time here. Again steaming is just for 10 minutes.

For making these dim sum let us first make the dough for outer covering. It is a simple dough with plain flour, salt, water and few drops of oil. Combine everything and knead to a bit firm dough and set aside.

Next for making the filling heat oil in a pan. Saute the chili flakes, ginger garlic and onions. Add the finely chopped veggies, salt, soy sauce, sugar and vinegar.

Saute in high flame for 8-10 minutes. The veggies should get cooked yet retain their crunch. Let cool.

To pleat and steam the dumplings pinch small balls from the dough and roll into a thin small circle. Place the filling and pleat the edges. There are so many shapes you can make here and it comes with practice.

Finally steam the pleated momos for 6-8 minutes in a steamer. I use idli vessel and plates for steaming. You can also use bamboo steamer for more flavor.

How To Make Veg Momos Recipe

For the dough:

Combine all purpose flour, salt and oil in a large mixing bowl.

Add water to make a slightly tight yet pliable smooth and soft dough. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let the dough sit for 20 minutes.

Preparing The Vegetables

As the dough rests, finely chop the vegetables, mince the ginger garlic and set aside. I have used

3/4 cup finely chopped cabbage- white and purple

1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/4 cup finely chopped green beans

8 finely chopped baby corns

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

3/4 cup chopped spring onion greens to make vegetable momos. You will need about2.5 cups chopped mixed vegetables to prepare momos. If you are scaling up the recipe you can use a food processor to chop the vegetables

Make The Filling

Heat oil in a pan. Saute chilli flakes. Next add the crushed garlic and ginger till the raw smell goes off.

Then add the spring onion bulbs and saute till translucent. Once done add the sliced red onions and saute for few minutes.

Now add the finely chopped vegetables, soy sauce, tomato sauce. Also add salt and pepper. Saute and stir fry in high heat for 4-5 minutes.

Finally add spring onion greens and remove from flame. Cool the stuffing.

Pleating Momos

Take the prepared momos dough and divide into four equal portions.

Working with one portion at a time, roll in into a thin big circle. Using a cutter or lid of round box cut into circles. Again knead the remaining dough and make as many circles as possible.

Take one small cut circle.

place 1 1/2 teaspoons of prepared filling in the center.

Now start pleating from one side and pleat in the same direction.Once done,sale the top and press slightly.

Steaming Momos

Prepare your steamer. You can use any regular pot with a steamer insert or bamboo steamer or use pressure cooker or instant pot with steamer plate. Here I have used my idli steaming plates.

Boil some water in a steamer or idly cooker and arrange the shaped momos in the plate. Place the steamer plate inside the pot with boiling water.

Steam for 6-7 minutes in medium high heat. Once done the dumplings will be glossy little bigger than we shaped.

Serve veg momos piping hot with dipping sauce or schezwan sauce.

Making Momos Chutney

To make quick dipping sauce or chutney for momos combine 4 cloves minced garlic, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, 2 teaspoons chili oil, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar. Whisk very well until combined.

Expert Tips

Flour– You can use either plain flour or whole wheat flour for making this dish. Traditionally it is made with plain flour only. Using plain flour you will get that absolutely light feather like texture in the outer covering. If you use wheat flour, it will be a bit dense, dark in color but it will taste good.

Dough– This dumpling dough should be a stiff dough and not very soft. If you knead the dough very soft, it will stick to the steamer while steaming, the filling will come out and also it would be difficult to pleat.

Wonton wrappers- If you want to skip making the dough you

Filling– For the filling or stuffing you could get really creative. I have made a spicy filling with assorted vegetables but you can also use just cabbage or mushrooms. You can also try

• paneer filling
• adding grated cheese
• Soya granules masala
• Sautéed spinach
• Grated or chopped chocolate mixed with nuts

Flavoring & Spices- How you choose to flavor this dish and the spices used are again totally up to you. To get that typical street style flavor and umami add soy sauce as I have did here. I also like to use a dash of vinegar, chilli sauce and a generous does of freshly cracked black pepper powder. You can also try adding Indian flavors like garam masala or tandoori masala to make tandoori momos or add Italian spices, Mexican spices too.

While steaming– After pleating make sure to secure the edges properly else the filling will break open while steaming. Also make sure to leave some space between each pleated momo as they expand slightly on steaming and may stick to each other.

Also grease the steamer plate well so that the bottom of the steamed momos do not stick to the plate. If your steamer plate has holes, you can line it with cabbage leaves before arranging the momos.

Checking for doneness– On steaming the momos will turn glossy and transparent. Also they will be non sticky to touch on the surface.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Street Food Recipes

samosa

veg lollipop

veg rolls

baby corn manchurian

tofu stir fry

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