THE STORY OF THE MALLU MOMOS

I saw this lovely recipe in a chinese cookbook, and the thought passed my mind that this was such a lovely idea for my ramadan recipe section. Not too oily, healthy, and very light on the stomach too!
So when I went to my home in Kollam, last week, I made this dish and presented it with a flourish..(a lot of pride too...it looked quite proffesional and stylish..)Ta daaa!!Take a look at that!!It's a work of art!!And sure enough, my brother S and my umma(mom) were in raptures at it's aesthetic appeal..And the taste....ahem...
I think the chinese would love it for it's sophisticated taste...but for a true blue mallu...you need a little more spice and stuff to sink your teeth into..
The look on my Vappa's (dad) face said it all...'Do I dare to spit it out and risk insulting her...or should I swallow this vile stuff and insult my palate?'
My poor brother, who had been waiting eagerly to eat his siter's famed cooking after a long gap, really tried...valiantly ploughing on with the business of chewing the tasteless mush..till I said.." Oh stop it , everyone..I know it's horrible.. you don't have to act for my sake!!"
Even so, I was truly offended by their releived smiles....really...they could have acted for my sake..
So Umma gave me a small advice." My dear Resh, Authentic Chinese food is all nice, But for us old mallus, we prefer something spicy and tangy , so why don't you try this with a different filling? More Indianised?"
I took her advice, and changed the recipe for a more spicy filling,and...it is now a smash hit!!So take a look at my Mallu Momos !!
Perfect for parties , you could make them ahead and steam just before serving.

MALLU MOMOS

Ingredients:

Filling::
Onions chopped finely 2 medium size
Green chillies(minced) 8
Capsicum chopped finely 1/2

Spring Onions chopped finely 4
Celery chopped finely 1/4 cup
Garlic (minced) 4 cloves
Boneless chicken (cooked and minced)-250 gms
Soya sauce 1 tbsp
Chicken stock cube(optional) 1
Chlli sauce 2 tbsp
Water/stock 1/4 cup
Chilli powder a dash
Salt not needed if you're adding stock cube...otherwise, add to taste.

For the pancakes:
-----------------
Egg 1
Cornflour 3 heaped tbsp
Maida 5 tbsp
Soda bi carb 1/2 tsp
Milk 1/2 cup
Salt 1/2 tsp
Water 1 cup


Method:

1. Saute onions in 4 tbsp oil till soft.

2. Add rest of filling ingredients, except for chicken and water. Saute well.

3. Add chicken , then water.

4. When all ingredients are well mixed, and soft, turn off heat.

5. Make pancake batter by putting all ingredients in a blender and mixing well. Keep aside for 15 minutes.

6. Assemble everything near the cooktop..the filling, a chopping board, to make momos, and a steamer for keeping momos in after making it.

7. Heat a small non stick frying pan , pour in about 1 large tbsp of the batter, swirl the pan around, till the batter coats the bottom of the pan evenly.

8. Cover and cook for two minutes, then flip over onto the chopping board nearby.

9. This part , you have to do fast, before they become dry. Put one tbsp of the filling in the middle of the pancake, then, bring the edges together over the filling so that it forms a small sack. Press firmly at the neck of the sack for a minute. It will stick together.

10. Keep aside in a steamer and repeat for rest of the momos, steps no.9 and 10.


11. Just before serving, steam gently for 5 minutes.

12. Lift carefully onto plate, tie the neck of the sacks with a spring onion strand.

13. Serve hot with Thai chilli sauce or any kind of chilli sauce.


A little complicated, but once you get the hang of it, they get easier each time. And they look so gorgeous..
You could make them at ;east one or two days before and store them in plastic containers in the refrigerator, steaming them just before serving.

1 comment: