These vegetable and paneer-filled dumplings are so delicious. Slather each one in Tandoori marinade and cook under intense heat for the heavenly charcoal smokiness we all know and love.
Prep Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Cook Time25 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr55 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: Indian, Nepali
Keyword: dumplings, paneer, tandoori, vegetables
Servings: 4
Author: Sanjana
Ingredients
For the dough:
200gplain flour
½tspsalt
120mlboiling waterjust enough to bind to a firm, smooth dough
For the filling:
25gsalted butter
1large onionfinely diced
2tbspgrated ginger
2clovesgarliccrushed
3hot red birds eye chillieschopped finely
60gwhite cabbagefinely shredded
2carrotsgrated
30gfrozen peas
30ggreen beanschopped finely
180gpaneercrumbled or grated
1/4tspturmeric
2spring onionschopped finely
2tbsplight soy sauce
2tsplight brown sugar
1tspSichuan peppercornsground
1tsptoasted fennel seedsground
Salt to taste
2tspcornflourdissolved in 2 tsp cold water
For the tandoori paste:
1tspwhole coriander seeds
8black peppercorns
2dried Kashmiri chillies
2inchescinnamon
1 ½tspcumin seeds
1star anise
4cloves
Seeds of 4 green cardamom pods
1black cardamom
1tspfennel seeds
You’ll also need:
1tbspconcentrated tomato puree
Juice of ½ lemon
1tbspyoghurt
2tspdark brown sugar
½tspsalt
1tspgrated ginger
1tspcrushed garlic
Momos toppings:
Fresh corianderchopped
Plain yoghurt
Sliced red onions
Instructions
First, make the tandoori paste. Toast all the spices in a dry pan until aromatic. Grind them in a coffee grinder until super fine. Put half the ground spices in a jar and stow away for another day.
With the remaining half of the masala, mix in the tomato puree, lemon juice, yoghurt, brown sugar, salt, ginger and garlic. Cover and refrigerate until needed.
To make the filling, heat the butter in a non-stick pan. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent but not browned. Add in ginger, garlic and chillies, cook for a moment and then add in the rest of the ingredients, apart from the cornflour.
Once the veggies and paneer have cooked down, about 10 minutes, add the cornflour and mix vigorously. The mixture should bind together. Turn out onto a plate to cool.
Meanwhile, make the dough. In a bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Little by little, add in the boiling water, mixing with a spoon. Once you’ve added in almost all the water, leave it for a few moments until cool enough to handle. Try to bind, checking if the rest of the water is required. Add more water if you need to. Bind to a smooth dough, kneading for around 8 minutes.
Allow to rest, covered for 10 minutes.
Line a couple of baking trays with baking parchment.
Take a grape-sized piece of dough and roll it out, 3 inches in diameter. A thin as you can. Take about 2 tsp cooled filling and place into the middle of the dough. Use your fingers to pull the dough together and pleat one side to the other, using your fingers to seal.
There are lots of handy YouTube video around to help show you how to fold dumplings if you’re not sure. There are so many pays to do it and you don’t have to be a pro to make amazing ones. Just make sure the filling is totally sealed in. The shape is up to you.
Repeat this process for all the dumplings. Put a movie on, make a cup of tea, enjoy the process.
Once you have a tray or two of finished dumplings, you’re ready to cook.
Pre-heat the oven to 220°C/430°F. Boil 150ml water in the kettle.
Heat a large, flat bottomed pan (one that has a lid). Add 2 tsp oil. Arrange the dumplings in the pan – you may need to do this in batches. Allow for them to sizzle for a minute. Now very quickly and extremely carefully add hot water from the kettle to the pan – just a splash or two. Put the lid on and allow to steam for 3 minutes on a low heat.
Remove the lid and place the momos back onto a baking tray. Brush them with the tandoori paste you made earlier.
Place them in the oven for 10 minutes or until charred in places and looking delicious. You can brush them again with melted butter before you serve.
Tumble onto a platter and garnish with chopped coriander, sliced red onion and plain yoghurt. Serve immediately.
Notes
Cook the momos immediately before serving to prevent drying.
To freeze: Arrange the momos on a baking tray. Freeze until solid. Remove from the tray and place in freezer-safe bags or a box. They will keep well for up to 6 months. Cook from frozen.