Dalai Dumplings
These momos, or dumplings, are a traditional Tibetan favourite. This recipe comes from Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, and is found on asiarecipe.com
Ingredients
The filling
1 pound potatoes
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 onions, chopped
12 ounces mushrooms, chopped
12 ounces grated cheese*
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
Pinch of paprika Salt and pepper, to taste
*Consider substituting parmesan, asiago, or Sonoma dry jack for yak cheese
The dough
1 pound plain flour
1-3/4 to 2-1/3 cups water
The soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
1 vegetable stock cube
1-3/4 cups boiling water
Method
To make the filling, boil and mash the potatoes. Leave to cool. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onions for five minutes until soft. Add the mushrooms, cover, and cook for five minutes or until soft. Leave to cool. When all the vegetables are cooled, mix with the grated cheese, chopped coriander, salt, and pepper
To make the dough, mix the flour with enough water to form a smooth dough. Briefly knead the dough until it is smooth. Roll out, but not too thinly. Cut into rounds with a two-inch pastry cutter. Taking each round, press the edges with your thumb and first two fingers, working around the circle. Doing this makes the edges a little thinner than the center so that when you fold the edges together and pleat them, they're not too thick and your momos will cook evenly.
On one side of the round, place a tablespoonful of the cooled vegetable mixture, then fold over and press the edges together, making sure they are well sealed. Alternatively, hold the round in one hand, and with your thumb and forefinger gather the edges into a pleat at the top and seal.
Fill a small steamer with water, first boiling the rack so the dumplings do not stick. If you don't have a metal steamer, a bamboo steamer sprayed with vegetable oil spray works well. Momos can also be fried on each side until they are golden brown.
Bring the water to a boil. Place the momos on the steamer rack, spacing them well apart as they will expand and stick together if they are too close. Steam for 20 minutes, or until they are firm and glossy. To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion, and cook till soft. Add the tomatoes and chopped coriander and cook for five minutes. Dissolve the stock cube in the boiling water and add to the pan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve in small bowls as an accompaniment to the dumplings.
In addition to the soup, you might want to try a Kathmandu-style momo dipping mixture of soy sauce combined with a little rice vinegar and chili-garlic sauce.
