Chicken Momo

I was introduced to momos in college at a place called Food Station in College Street, Kolkata. After that I was treated to homemade momos by my friend, Shradha. We (me and five other people) were staying at a hostel then where cooking wasn’t allowed. But we managed to sneak in an electric heater and we made everything from scratch – starting from the dough to the soup to the achar and of course the filling. To roll out the dough we made use of our steel plates and steel glasses. She had brought a momo steamer all the way from Kalimpong, her home town. And it was so much fun cooking and eating together. The pot stickers available here gave me the enthusiasm to make momos because making the dough and rolling them out is the scariest part. Though they don’t look as good as my friend’s its tasty nonetheless. Here’s to you Shradha.

Ingredients:
For the filling:
Ground chicken – 1 lb
Finely chopped cabbage – ½ cup
Onion – 1 (diced)
Garlic cloves – 2 (minced) + 2 (whole)
Finely chopped ginger – 2 tbsp
Canola/vegetable oil – 4 tbsp
Vinegar – 1 ½ tbsp
Salt – to taste
Wonton wrappers
For the achar:
Tomatoes – 2
Serrano chili – 3-4 (or according to taste)
For the soup:
Low sodium chicken broth – 2 cans (14oz each)
Scallions – 2 (chopped)
Fresh chopped cilantro – 1 tbsp

Procedure:
In a large mixing bowl mix together the ground chicken, cabbage, onion, minced garlic, ginger, salt and oil until well incorporated. Do not over mix. Let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour.

Meanwhile boil water in a pan. Put the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or so.

When the skin starts to peel off, remove from heat and let cool. When cool peel off the entire skin and put it in a food processor.

In the processor add 2 cloves of garlic and the Serrano chilies and blend into a puree.

Season with salt and set aside in a dipping bowl.

Arrange the wonton wrappers on a flat surface.

Spoon in 2 tsp of the filling onto each wrapper.

Brush the edges of the wrapper with water and seal them tightly.

Meanwhile bring a pot of water to a rolling boil.

Now brush a bamboo steamer liberally with oil (so that momos don’t stick).

Arrange the momos on the steamer so that they don’t touch each other.

Put the steamer on top of the pot of boiling water and steam the momos for 12-15 minutes.

Serve immediately with the tomato achar and soup.

For the soup:
Heat the chicken broth with ½ cup of water. When it comes to a boil remove from heat, adjust seasoning, garnish with scallions and cilantro and serve.