Dimsums, more than just momos

Lifestyle Monday 04/June/2018 18:14 PM
By: Times News Service
Dimsums, more than just momos

VEGETABLE DIMSUMS
Cotton soft dimsums with an overload of veggies, sealed and steamed to create melt in the mouth delights.
Ingredients
For the Dough
2 cups refined flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Stuffing
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped
1 cup finely minced cabbage, grated carrots and thinly slivered French beans
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 teaspoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Preparation
Mix the flour and salt and knead to a dough, with water. Heat oil and add the onion and garlic. Sauté till onions sweat and the rawness of the garlic is gone and add the vegetables. Sauté on high heat till cooked. Take it off the heat and mix in the salt, vinegar and black pepper, keep aside. Roll the dough thin (translucent) and cut into 4"-5" rounds. Wet the edge, place some filling in the centre and bring edges together to cover the filling. Press to seal well and steam for 10 minutes and serve hot.

CHICKEN MOMOS
A momo is a type of South Asian dumpling that has made its way to India from Nepal. Soft outer covering with moist and juicy filling makes these momos irresistible and the best part is that they are very easy to make.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
Salt
200g all purpose flour
250g finely minced chicken
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
2 teaspoons finely minced ginger and garlic
1 onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons carrots, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cabbage, finely chopped
1 teaspoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon chilli sauce
1 teaspoon tomato sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper powder
Preparation
Mix 2 tablespoons of oil and a pinch of salt in the flour. Then knead the flour into dough with some water. Keep the dough covered with a damp cloth. Pressure cook the minced chicken with some salt, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste. Drain the boiled chicken and keep aside. Heat oil and add the minced ginger-garlic to it. Add the sliced onion and sauté till transparent. Next, add the chopped spring onions, carrots, cabbage. Stir fry till the vegetables are cooked. Now add the minced chicken and sauté for 3-4 mines. Then add the soya sauce, chilli sauce and tomato sauce and mix well. Season with salt and white pepper powder. Turn off the heat and leave this mix to cool. Take the dough and make a thin chapatti out of it. With the help of a small bowl having sharp edges cut out equal shapes from this chapatti. Please ensure that the cut-outs/wrappers are not very small. For stuffing the momo, hold wrapper on one palm, put one tablespoon of chicken vegetable mixture in the centre of it and with the other hand bring all edges together to the centre, while making pleats. Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the momo is closed completely. Heat the steamer. Arrange the momos on a greased steamer rack with some space left between them. Close the lid, and allow steaming until the momos are cooked thoroughly, about 15 min. Serve hot with garlic chutney. You can also deep fry the momos before serving them.

STEAMED SWEET DUMPLINGS
Sweet dumplings, known as Tong Yuen or Tangyuan in Chinese, are glutinous rice balls stuffed with peanut, sesame or red bean paste. It is a tradition amidst Chinese families to eat Tong Yuen on the Chinese New Year, as they symbolise reunion and togetherness.

Ingredients
For the dough
2 cups glutinous rice flour
11/2 tablespoons oil
1 cup water
For stuffing
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
For the sweet ginger syrup
4 cups water
80g sliced ginger
80g brown sugar
Preparation
Mix ingredients for the stuffing till smooth. Refrigerate. Combine rice flour in a large bowl with oil. Add in water a little at a time until dough becomes soft and smooth. If dough is too wet (or dry), add in more flour (or water). Divide the dough into 15 equal portions. Cover with cling wrap to prevent the dough from drying out. Flatten a dough piece and place filling in the middle. Fold the edges, roll it and make it as round as possible. Make sure your fillings are completely covered. Dust with extra flour to prevent it from sticking on the plate. Repeat with the rest. Prepare the sweet ginger syrup by boiling the water, sliced ginger and brown sugar till they are well combined and string consistency is achieved. Gently drop your dough with a spoon into the syrup. Cook for around 5 mins until they float to the top. Serve hot. —[email protected]