Chicken Momos – Instant pot

Chicken Momos – is a juicy dumpling from the cuisine of  Tibet and Nepal. The main ingredients in this steamed dumpling are all-purpose flour, water, meat, and vegetables, served with tomato chutney, garlic chutney, and many more.

The chicken momos aka dumplings come in different variations like steamed momo (the usual one), pan-fried momo, tandoori momo, and deep-fried momo. I will update all variations in Momos in the coming days. 

How to prepare dough for chicken momo

The dough is the foundation for excellent dumplings. The process of making dough is easy, especially with modern tools like a food processor. These homemade wrappers taste much superior to the store-bought ones. 

Knead by hand: In a mixing bowl, mix all-purpose flour, salt, and water by hand and knead the dough until it holds its shape. 

(or)

Kneading in a Food processor: To prepare the dough in the food processor, add flour, salt, and water to the bowl. After processing it 2 times, the dough looks rough but feels soft. Move the dough on to counter and start kneading it until it holds its shape.

2  Cover the dough in a pot with a lid or in a Ziploc bag, for at least 20 min.

3   After 20 min, give the dough final knead and let it rest for 60 min

If you don't have time for making your dumpling sheets, you can buy them at your local farmers market, Asian stores, or target. Look for dumpling wrappers in frozen sections. 

How to prepare chicken filling for chicken momo

1  Chop the red onion, spinach, cilantro, zucchini, green onion, and ginger into very small pieces. I used my Cuisinart food processor.

Carrots are a good addition too.

2  Chicken thighs are a good option for chicken momos. Add the ground thigh meat to a mixing bowl.

3  Mix meat with all other filling ingredients (as mentioned in 1) by hand together very well.

4  Add coriander powder, garam masala, salt, cumin powder, oil, and soya sauce. Mix it.

how to make dumpling sheets

1  Knead the dough for a minute before dividing it into equal parts.

Cover the rest of the dough in a container or Ziploc. If the dough gets dry then it will be hard to work with.

2  Place the dough on a chopping board and roll it into a thin sheet. It shouldn’t be too thin that you can see through it.

3  After rolling the dough into a sheet, cut it into little circles using a small cup or a glass upside down.

how to make chicken momos

1  Hold the momo in one hand, put 2 tsp of filling and with the other hand join another side of the circle at the center.

Apply water on the edges of the circles before joining

2  Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the closure of the dumpling.

freezing the chicken momos

1  Freeze these circles by dusting flour in between each wrap, and stack them.

2  Can freeze stuffed dumplings on a tray and move them to Ziploc the next day. These dumplings can be steamed directly after removing them from the freezer.

How to steam chicken momo

INSTANT POT:

1  Now add 1.5 cups water in the instant pot liner and turn on STEAM, normal mode.

2  Bring it to a simmer then turn off STEAM mode.

3  Grease the steaming tray with oil and arrange the shaped momos.

4  Close the lid, a valve on sealing. Set on STEAM, NORMAL mode for 10 minutes.

5  When cooking time is done, wait for 10 minutes and do a quick release.

STOVE TOP:

1 Add 1.5 cups water to a pot and bring it to a simmer.

2 Grease the steaming tray with oil and arrange the shaped momos.

3  Place the steaming rack in the pot and close the lid and steam for 15 minutes.

pan-fried chicken momo

1  Add oil to a pan, before the pan gets hot place the dumplings.

2  When the dumplings start sizzling, add 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook until the water evaporated. 

3  Cook until bottoms are crisp and golden brown. 

full video