First attempt making the Bhutanese Momo on my own

Delicious Bhutanese Momo and chilli made by KD :)

I was visiting my Bhutanese friend almost two weeks ago. When I reached, she and her husband had prepared the Bhutanese Momo (dumpling) for my arrival. 

It had been 5 years since my last visit to Bhutan, but on and off, I tasted the Bhutanese momo once in a while - during my travel to Sri Lanka and Kolkata. But after Covid-19, it had already been more than 3 years I did not taste it. 

I was seated and they served mountains of Momo right in front of me. I took a piece and ate it with the chilli she made. After the first bite, I was awed by it!!! It tasted like Bhutan only, and no where else. 

I had eaten various Chinese dumplings throughout my life, but none tasted like this, especially this was vegetarian. The chilli too, was special. Waaaahhhhhh..... you could not imagine how happy I was!!!

Me and my two hosts :)

I asked her what ingredients she used inside the Momo and the chilli. She explained to me. But after more than one bottle of wine, my memory was just more or less. Hahahaha....

There was one special ingredient inside the chilli she made, which was Szechuan pepper. I saw it at Chinese supermarket 2 days ago and it intrigued me of buying it, as I really wanted to try to make the chilli like she made. So I bought it.

As I went to supermarket looking for red chilli powder, I thought, why not made the Momo as well??? So I picked ingredients for making Momo as well. But before that, I consulted her again regarding the ingredients, to ensure I did not miss anything. 

And today, I spent my whole afternoon making it, all by myself. 

Bhutanese chilli for Momo

Chilli ingredients:

- 1.5 pcs red onion

- 2 pcs tomato

- Oil

- Salt

- Szechuan pepper (or tinge)

- Red chilli powder

How to make:

- Cut both red onion and tomato into pieces

- Put oil into the pan

- Put both ingredients in it and stir

- Add salt

- Add pepper, and fry for a while

- Grind it using machine the above mixture and pour the red chilli powder as much as you want (you can add chilli padi if you want it spicier)

- Then it is ready

Momo skin:

- Maida or all purpose flour (I bought 1kg but I only used around 700g and the rest was to shape the skin)

- Water (no idea the quantity, as long until the skin was moisture enough)

How to make:

1- Mix both flour and water into mixing bowl

- Mix it using hands, knead it until it mixes well and moisture enough (not too dry)

- Cover with wet napkin so it will not dry 

Vegetarian Bhutanese Momo Ingredients

Momo ingredients:

- Cabbage (I used around 3/4 piece)

- 3 big red onions 

- 1 bunch of coriander

- 8 pcs of cheese slices (I put more since I like it :D)

How to make:

- Peel and cut red onion into small pieces

- Wash and cut the Cabbage into small pieces

- Wash and cut the Coriander into small pieces

- Cut the slice cheese into small piece

- Add all ingredients together into the bowl

- Add oil and salt into it and mix all together

Preparation of Momo ingredients

Once the above ready, now it was time to shape the skin and wrap. I spread the flour on the table. I removed the dough from the bowl, cut into half. Put another half portion back to the bowl and cover.

Cut the dough and made it into small balls. With the help of roller, flatten the ball into round piece, put the ingredients inside, and shaped it one by one. 

Tbh, I was really bad at shaping the skin. As I did not often make it, in beginning part I made such a giant piece. Hahaha..... It took me some time until I made it smaller pieces. That too, I made ugly shapes ^^"

Wrap the Momo

Remember to put some flour on the tray before putting the Momo, otherwise it would stick and break the Momo skin. Keep repeating the process until both skin and fillings finished. 

I started making at 1pm and finished preparing at 4.30pm. It was quite slow as I had to prepare it alone. 

Time to steam the Momo!!!

I used the electrical steamer to steam the Momo. It was easy and fast. Just plugged the cable, filled water at bottom part, put Momo in each tray, stacked them all, covered and let it steam around 25 minutes. 

Once ready, took it out and transferred it to plates or bowls and continued the steam process as required. 

Homemade Bhutanese Momo

And tadaaaaa....... that was the result!!! 

As first timer, let me rate the taste and overall making process. Hahaha.... 

First the chilli. I felt I put too much tomatoes (3 small pcs) as the tomato taste was quite strong. The pepper that I bought did not smell strong and too powdery. Next time, will try not powder type, so can get better and stronger flavour. The red chilli powder was not spicy. I just anyhow picked any brand from supermarket, so that was why the taste was different from the one I had at KD place. But overall, it was still good and still fit the Momo very well :)

Second the dough for Momo skin. I am not the expert in making and shaping dumpling dough. Just do whatever I can, so I did not expect very good result as well. Since I made it for own (family) consumption, it did not matter hahahaha.... but definitely not confident enough to make it for guests. 

Third, the fillings. It was good but I think I should have put more oil. It was a little bit dry. I thought salt would produce water into my vegetable ingredients, but it did not. So KD mentioned to put little bit more so it would not dry. 

Happy Eater :D

And so far, my hubby and son had tasted it. With hungry stomach, of course it was good for my hubby, while my son preferred dumpling with meat ingredients ^^"

Will I make it again next time? Hmm.... perhaps, but not so soon. The time and effort spent was too much but it still made me happy. I posted my experience here so I would not forget it and make the better one next time :)

Have you yourself tried making it on your own? If yes, I guess you are quite pro with it and if you have better suggestion, please do not hesitate to comment or pm me. Thank you for reading and have a lovely day! :)