Hello! I hope you all are doing well. It’s been a while! But, I’m back, and since this is AAPI heritage month I wanted to share a beloved food from Asia, dumplings. In Nepal, it is widely famous as Momo. This is my version of Nepali veggie dumpling.

Prep time – 1 hr 30 min ~ Cook Time – 15 min ~ Servings – 4
Prep Time can be reduced by half if using store-bought dumpling wrap.

Ingredients

For Dumpling Stuffing

1. Shredded Cabbage – 2 cups
2. Cauliflower rice – 2 cups
3. Onion – 1 cup
4. White Mushroom – 1 cup
5. Grated Garlic – 2 tbsp
6. Grated Ginger – 1 tbsp
7. Salt to taste
8. Green Onion – 1 cup
9. Cumin powder – 1tbsp
10. Coriander powder – 1 tbsp

For Sauce

1. Tomatoes – 4 large tomatoes
2. Onion – 1 cup
3. Garlic – 2 tbsp
4. Ginger – 1 tbsp
5. Sesame seed – 1/4 cup
6. Salt to taste
7. Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
8. Cumin powder – 1 tbsp
9. Coriander powder – 1tbsp
10. Chili powder – 1/2 tsp
11. A handful of chopped fresh coriander

Dumpling wrap – If you are preparing the dough for dumpling wrap, start with the dough so that you can prepare the rest of the ingredients while the dough rests for about 30 min. Mix 2 cups of all-purpose flour, ½ tsp of salt, and 1 tsp of oil in a large bowl. Start kneading: add ¾ cup warm water and knead until the dough is smooth. Cover it and set it aside at room temperature. If you want to save some time you can find dumpling wrap/wonton wrap that is round-shape in Asian grocery stores and Meijer (if you’re in Mid-West).

Stuffing – Chop onion, cabbage, and mushroom into very small pieces. Grate ginger and garlic. Head a pan. Add 3 tbsp of vegetable oil. Add onion, ginger, garlic, and rest of the veggies. Then add salt, cumin powder, coriander powder. Stir fry it until the moisture from veggies dries down. Transfer it to a plate and let it cool.

Sauce – Chop onion and tomatoes. They do not need to be chopped fine like in the stuffing because they are going into the mixture later. Heat a deep pan. Add some oil. Fry onion, ginger, and garlic. Once the onion is tender add tomatoes. Add salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander & chili powder. Cook for few min. The add about half cup of water. Cover and let it shimmer until tomatoes turn into almost sauce-texture. Turn the heat off and add fresh coriander. Meanwhile, heat a small pan and add a sesame seed. Roast it until it turns light brown. It should not take more than five minutes. Roasted sesame seed give unique flavor to the dumpling sauce. In a mixture, add the tomato sauce and sesame seed. Grind it until it until all ingredients are combined well. Sauce is ready. Drizzle little bit of lemon to give a kick to the sauce.

Wrapping dumplings – Take a about a tbsp of dough. Roll it between your palms until it turns into the shape of a small ball. Place it on a clean and flat surface (e.g. chopping board). Use a rolling pin to roll it out into circular sheet, about 1.6 mm. Sprinkle flour on flat surface while rolling to prevent the dough from sticking. If using store bought dumpling wrap, skip this.

Take a wrap and lightly damp the edge with clean water using your index finger. Put about 1 tbsp of stuffing in the center of the wrap and pack it tightly. Wrap it by bringing the opposite edges of the wrap together and pinch it. Some easy dumpling wrapping techniques are in the link below.

https://www.wikihow.com/Wrap-Dumplings

When you are finished wrapping all the dumplings, place them in a dumpling steamer. It is important to spray oil in the steamer before placing dumplings so they don’t stick to the steamer. Steam them for 10 -15 min. Enjoy the dumplings with the sauce. If you do not have the steamer, you can use a pan. First heat the pan. Add a little bit of oil. Add dumplings to the pan. When the bottoms of the dumplings start to caramelize, add some water, cover, and let it cook for 10 min.