A simple white-flour-and-water dough is generally preferred to make the outer momo covering.

Sometimes, a little yeast orbaking soda is added to give a more doughy texture to the finished
product. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is also used sometimes to enhance the taste of momo.

Momo in mucktoo

Traditionally, momo is prepared with ground/minced meat filling, but over the past several years,
this has changed and the fillings have become more elaborate. These days, momo is prepared
with virtually any combination of ground meat, vegetables, tofu, paneer cheese,
soft chhurpi (local hard cheese) and vegetable and meat combinations.[3]

Meat: Different types of meat fillings are popular in different regions.

In Nepal, Tibet, Darjeeling district, Assam, Sikkim andBhutan, pork, chicken, goat
meat and buffalo meat are commonly used. In the Himalayan region of Nepal and Ladakh,
India, lamb and yak meat are more common. Minced meat is combined with any or all of the
following: onions/shallots,garlic, ginger and cilantro/coriander. Some people also add finely
pured tomatoes and soy sauce.[4]

Vegetables: Finely chopped cabbage, potato or chayote (iskush) are used as fillings in
India and Nepal.

Paneer: Paneer is another recent and popular filling in India.

Cheese: Usually fresh cheese or the traditional soft chhurpi is used. This variety is
common in India and Eastern Nepal.

Khoa: Momo filled with milk solids mixed with sugar are popular as dessert in
the Kathmandu valley.

Mashed potato: Mashed potato (lu) is another popular filling in the Kathmandu valley.

The dough is rolled into small circular flat pieces. The filling is then enclosed in the circular dough
cover either in a round pocket or in a half-moon or crescent shape. People prefer meat that has a
lot of fat because it produces intensively flavored juicy momos. A little oil is sometimes added to

the lean ground/minced meat to keep the filling moist and juicy. The dumplings are then cooked
by steaming over a soup (either a stock based on bones or vegetables) in a momo-making
utensil calledmucktoo. The dumplings may also be pan-fried or deep-fried after being steamed.

Varieties[edit]
There are typically two types of momo, steamed and fried. Momo is usually served with a dipping
sauce (locally calledchutney/achhar[5]), normally made with tomato as the base ingredient. Soup
momo is a dish with steamed momo immersed in a meat broth. Pan-fried momo is also known
as kothey momo. Steamed momo served in hot sauce is called C-momo. There are also a variety
of Tibetan momos, including tingmo and thaipo.