Rene's Momos

Rene's Momos

Be prepared to snack as you make these juicy dumplings. They're a famous and popular appetizer in Darjeeling, India. The Tibetans make them accompanied by thukpa, a wholesome and hearty noodle soup. 

My eldest sister whom I miss dearly, gave me this recipe with two instructions. First of all, a whole lot of minced onions should be mixed into the minced meat to make these dumplings moist and delicious. Secondly, a bottle of pani puri masala takes care of seasoning the meat. This looks almost identical to the bottles of mint or coriander and mint chutneys, available in Indian markets. The soy sauce and ajinomoto are my additions. 

Ingredients

1 (50 count) pkg. dumpling/gyoza wrappers

1 lb. ground meat (chicken, pork or beef)

3 medium onions, minced

1 Tbsp. light soy sauce

1 tsp. Ajinomoto

1 Tbsp. corn starch

Directions

1. Bring a big saucepan of water to a boil.
2. Open the package of wrappers and cover with a damp kitchen cloth.
3. Combine ground meat with the remaining ingredients.
4. Surround yourself with wrappers, minced meat, a teaspoon and a small dish of water.
5. Make dumplings by dipping your index finger with water and running it around the edge of a wrapper.
6. Place a teaspoon of minced meat in the center of each wrapper and pleat edges to make a crescent shape.
7. Drop 7-8 dumplings into the boiling water and simmer over medium heat for 7-8 minutes.
8. Scoop dumplings from water and transfer to a plate.
9. Boil remaining dumplings in this way and enjoy with bottled dumpling sauce.
10. These can be stored in the freezer by packaging in Ziploc bags.
11. To reheat, fry the bottoms of the dumplings to a golden brown, pour chicken broth around the edges, cover and steam for 5 minutes.