Nepali Momos with Tomato-Cilantro Achar
Round wrappers gathered into topknots around ground turkey spiced with coriander, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg, steamed and served with a smoky blender sauce of charred tomatoes, cilantro and Sichuan peppercorns.
Momos are the steamed dumplings of Nepal and Tibet, now loved across India, Bhutan and Bangladesh too. Wikipedia says the earliest Tibetan versions used barley flour with beef or mutton, that Nepal's Newar community calls them mamacha, and that the Tibetan name may come from the Chinese momo, a word for wheat-flour foods). Which way they traveled is argued over: one belief is that Newar merchants carried the recipe from Tibet to Kathmandu; another legend credits a 7th-century Nepali princess, Bhrikuti, with taking momos to Tibet. Wikipedia says plainly that the debate exists.
In Nepal the classic filling is water buffalo, and momos come with achar, a tomato-based dipping sauce. This version is from Binita Pradhan, the Nepal-born founder of Bini's Kitchen in San Francisco, as published by Saveur: ground turkey made fragrant with a warm spice blend, and an achar made from tomatoes blackened in a cast-iron skillet with Sichuan peppercorns for what Saveur calls a numbing, citrusy buzz.
Why it works the kitchen science
Spicing a lean meat
Saveur notes turkey is leaner than the usual yak, beef or chicken, so the warm spices, oil and onion carry the flavor and keep the filling moist.
Charring the tomatoes
Blackening them in a dry, very hot skillet gives the achar a smoky depth that raw tomatoes would not.
Step by step
- Step 1
Grind the coriander, cumin, both cardamoms, cinnamon, nutmeg and bay leaf finely in a spice grinder. Mix them by hand with the turkey, onion, cilantro, oil, ginger and salt until evenly seasoned. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
- Step 2
For the achar, heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes in one layer and cook, turning, about 4 minutes, until blackened all over. Blend them in a food processor with the cilantro, oil, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and asafetida until smooth, and season with salt.
- Step 3
Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put 2 tsp filling in the center of a wrapper, gather the wrapper up around it, pleating and twisting the top into a small topknot to seal. Set it on the sheet under a towel and repeat.
- Step 4
Set a steamer insert in a large saucepan with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Oil the steamer and arrange the momos about 1 inch apart.
- Step 5
Cover and steam about 5 minutes, until cooked through and the center of one reads 165°F; steam a minute or two longer if it doesn't. Repeat with the rest.
- Step 6
Spoon some achar over the momos and serve hot, with more on the side.
Nepali Momos with Tomato-Cilantro Achar
Serves 4 · about 40 momos · 2 hr 10 min total
Momos
- 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/8 tsp black cardamom seeds
- 1/8 tsp green cardamom seeds
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/2 bay leaf
- 10 oz ground turkey
- 1/2 cup minced yellow onion
- 2 1/2 tbsp minced cilantro
- 1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1 (12-oz) package round dumpling wrappers (about 40 needed)
- Nonstick cooking spray or oil for the steamer
Tomato-cilantro achar
- 4 plum tomatoes (about 1 lb), cored
- 1 1/2 cups packed cilantro leaves
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 3/4 tsp asafetida powder
- Kosher salt
Method
- Grind the coriander, cumin, both cardamoms, cinnamon, nutmeg and bay leaf finely in a spice grinder. Mix them by hand with the turkey, onion, cilantro, oil, ginger and salt until evenly seasoned. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.
- For the achar, heat a 12-inch cast-iron skillet over high heat 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes in one layer and cook, turning, about 4 minutes, until blackened all over. Blend them in a food processor with the cilantro, oil, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and asafetida until smooth, and season with salt.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment. Put 2 tsp filling in the center of a wrapper, gather the wrapper up around it, pleating and twisting the top into a small topknot to seal. Set it on the sheet under a towel and repeat.
- Set a steamer insert in a large saucepan with about 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Oil the steamer and arrange the momos about 1 inch apart.
- Cover and steam about 5 minutes, until cooked through and the center of one reads 165°F; steam a minute or two longer if it doesn't. Repeat with the rest.
- Spoon some achar over the momos and serve hot, with more on the side.
Adapted from Saveur, "Turkey Momos with Tomato-Cilantro Sauce" (July 23, 2015; from Binita Pradhan of Bini's Kitchen), serves 8 to 10: with background from Martha Upton, "How to Make Momos, the Himalayas' Favorite Dumpling", Saveur (February 21, 2017). We make half the recipe (10 oz turkey instead of 1 1/4 lb; 4 tomatoes instead of 8) and follow its method: a ground spice blend, a 1-hour chill, tomatoes blackened about 4 minutes in a skillet preheated 5 minutes over high heat, 2 teaspoons of filling per store-bought wrapper and about 5 minutes in the steamer. The 165°F check is ours; Saveur steams about 5 minutes "until cooked through." Saveur. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Saveur's chill time matters: a cold, rested filling is easier to wrap and the spices bloom.
- Buffalo, yak, chicken, pork and vegetable fillings are all common, Wikipedia says; use 10 oz of any ground meat (cook red meat to 160°F, poultry to 165°F).
- For kothey momo, the pan-fried kind Wikipedia lists, brown steamed momos in a little oil.
- Asafetida is strong; measure it, don't guess.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Momos went from Tibet to Nepal. Disputed: Wikipedia says debate exists over whether they spread from the Kathmandu Valley to Tibet or the other way around; one belief credits Newar merchants, a legend credits Princess Bhrikuti.
- The name comes from Chinese. Disputed: Wikipedia says the Tibetan word "may" come from the Chinese momo.
- Real momos are buffalo. Folklore: buffalo is a common Nepali filling, but Wikipedia lists many meats and vegetables, and Saveur's Nepali chef uses turkey.
- Momos are always steamed. Documented as false: Wikipedia lists pan-fried (kothey), deep-fried and soup (jhol momo) versions.
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