Kothey momo is a signature Nepali dish. It is a half fried and half steamed momo, often elongated in shape. Although I made them in shape of Tortelloni.
They are served with different types of sauces to bring out that tangy pot-sticker flavour.
In traditional Nepali cooking, Kothey momos are filled with pork or buff meat. The filling is also more gingery than others, as ginger, offsets the taste of meat very well.
If you are a vegetarian then you can replace meat with same quantity of soya mince and this will still be great, I even tried these with vegetables and they were great.
If we go for the very traditional style of eating then Kothey momos come with soup. The frying leaves the dough outside slightly charred and crispy, which gives kothey momo an exciting texture. While the inside filling retains its juiciness, the outer lining attains a somewhat crunchy flavor that intensifies the taste.
As many people think momos are unhealthy because the use of Maida in it, therefore I have replaced it with Whole Wheat Flour, so this is basically a mixture of both flours. All other ingredients are already very healthy so we need not worry munching on these.
Ingredients
Dough
450 gms – 1 lbs. all purpose flour + some more to dust
1 + ¼ cup water or enough to make a soft and flexible, but not sticky dough
1 tbsp vegetable oil
½ tsp salt
Filling
500 gms minced chicken, or you can use soy mince too
¾ cup onions finely chopped
¼ cup spring onions finely chopped
1 or 2 hot red chili peppers very thinly sliced
1 ½ tbsp fresh ginger finely chopped
½ tbsp. vegetable oil
1 to 1 ½ cup fresh coriander finely chopped
2 tbsp water
Salt to taste
Method
Put all the ingredients (besides the water) in the bowl. Start kneading and add the water little by little until you get a soft (but not sticky) dough.
Shape it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Keep it aside for at least 30 minutes.
Combine all the ingredients together and keep the filling in the fridge for at least 1 hour before assembling the momos. This will ensure that all the flavours come together.
Make sure the filling is soft and moist (that is the reason why you add a little water to it), so it will stay moist when you bite into the dumplings!
Divide the dough into small balls of the same size (about 2 to 2.5 cm – 3/4 inch to 1 inch).
Roll each ball into an 8 cm – 3 to 3.5 inch circle.
Cover the circles with a towel to prevent them from drying out.
Place 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of each square of pasta. Dip your finger in the bowl and run it along two edges of the square. Fold the square into a triangle, pressing the top together and then working your way along the sides.
Put 3 tbsp of vegetable oil in a non stick pan.
Add the momos and put the fire on medium. Shallow fry them for a few minutes but do not turn them around.
When golden brown, add enough water into the pan to submerge all of the dumplings halfway. Cover the pan with a lid and put the fire on high.
When the water has evaporated, they are ready!
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