Tibetan Vegetable Momos with Coriander and Cashew Nut Pesto

Momos are a type of dumpling popular in Tibet and Nepal where they are sold as street food or fast food. The  main fillings include minced chicken or lamb/goat mixed with onions and spices, as well as finely minced vegetables or cheese. There are even sweet momos filled with chocolate.

They are traditionally steamed, or sometimes fried and served with a tomato based dipping sauce or in a  hot soup/broth.

Antonia, the lady that does the washing up at the restaurant, has grown some fresh coriander on her finca and gave us a huge bunch of it in a carrier bag. You may have noticed that I use a lot of fresh coriander in my cooking, but not that much! So, to use up a lot of it before it wilted I decided to make an Asian spiced coriander pesto to go with these momos.

To make the momos you have to roll out the pastry really thinly and cut out circles with a glass or cookie cutter.

Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling on one side of the circle, leaving the edges clear.

Then fold the pastry over the filling and push the edges together with your fingers and seal/crimp the edges with a chopstick or fork.

You can store them in the fridge at this point until ready to serve, then steam them for about 1o minutes or deep-fry until golden on both sides.

I had a lot of the filling leftover so I stir-fried it with some vermicelli rice noodles, soy and my sweet chilli sauce to serve with the momos and pesto.

Tibetan Vegetable Momos & Rice Noodles with Coriander & Cashew Nut Pesto

Serves 3 Makes about 16, Vegan.  Adapted from Love Food Eat

For the dough

• 225 gr (1 1/2 cups) flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• approx. 100 ml (1/2 cup) water

Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir in the water, a little at a time, until you have a soft dough.You may need a little more water, just add a tablespoon more at a time. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Leave it in the bowl covered with a damp tea towel for at least an hour.

For the filling

• 1/4 medium cabbage, core removed and roughly shredded
• 1/4 cauliflower, core removed and roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 leek, halved lengthways, rinsed and roughly chopped
• a handful of green beans, trimmed and roughly chopped
• a handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 2 chillis, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp rice vinegar
• salt & black pepper

Put each vegetable, one type at a time into a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Tip into a large bowl while you do the rest. Add the finely chopped coriander and mix all the vegetables together well.

Heat 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan, over a medium heat and add the ginger, chilli and garlic. Cook for a few seconds then add in the vegetables. Cook for 2 or 3 minutes until slightly softened but not mushy. Stir in the soy and vinegar and season with a little salt & black pepper, taste for seasoning. Set aside to cool.

On a floured surface roll out the dough into a very thin sheet. Using a 3 inch cookie cutter or a glass(dusted with flour), cut out discs, you can re roll the off cuts if necessary. You should get about 16.

Place a heaped teaspoon of filling in one half of each pastry circle, leaving the edges clear (see photos above). Then fold the pastry over the filling to make a semicircle, press the edges together with your fingers then seal/crimp the edges well with a chopstick or fork. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Spread the momos out in a greased steamer so they have space in between. I don’t have a steamer so I lined a sieve with greaseproof paper and balanced it above a saucepan of boiling water. Put on the lid and steam for 10-15 minutes until cooked through.

Serve immediately with sweet chilli sauce and this coriander & cashew nut pesto.

Asian Coriander & Cashew Nut Pesto

Makes 1 jar, Vegan. Adapted from Mission Delectable

• 1 big bunch coriander, including stalks, remove tough root ends
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 75 gr cashew nuts
• 1 green chilli, chopped
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• the zest & juice of 1/2 a lime
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• salt & black pepper
• 4 tbsp (1/4 cup) olive oil, or more

Put all the ingredients except the oil in a blender and blitz until well combined. Add the oil a bit at a time with the processor running if possible and blend until the desired consistency is reached. Taste for seasoning and balance of flavours. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

 Vermicelli Rice Noodles

I had quite a bit of the filling left over so I used it in this noodle dish.

• vermicelli rice noodles
• leftover momo filling
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• sweet chilli sauce
• fresh coriander

Soak the noodles in boiling water for a few minutes (or according to the instructions on the packet), drain in a colander and run under the cold tap to stop cooking and sticking together.

Heat a little sesame oil in a large pan or wok and add in the momo filling, stir fry for a minute then add in the vermicelli, a splash of soy and sweet chilli sauce and toss everything together. Once heated through, stir through some fresh coriander and taste. Add more soy/sweet chilli to taste.

 Have a great weekend!