Momo needs makeover

A new ready-to-eat momo offers the home-made vibe but needs to improve the dip and shell to make it the perfect snack

Food: Authentic
Packaging: Not apt
Access: Easy
Cost: Budget
Verdict:

A small momo stall on the banks of the Teesta river, en route to Darjeeling, was a favourite for travellers to get some respite from the long drive ahead. What made it special was the vegetarian momos served there.

Homemade, juicy and spicy, with just the right amount of filling encased in paper-thin shells; it made even hardcore non-vegetarians who swore by authentic buff or pork momos from the region turn into believers. Though the stall shut shop four years ago, a taste of the vegetarian momos by the ready-to-eat variant by Prasuma Momos that hit shelves across Mumbai earlier this week, make us believe they’ve got their hands on the recipe. They also have frozen options.

The recipe, from Nepal, has been passed down the Suwal family, who entered the food business in 1985. Now headed by founder Mahendra P Suwal’s daughter Lisa Suwal, who grew up savouring home-made momos at every family occasion, it was requests by friends to pack up a few plates of the dish that made her launch the ready-to-eat variants.

“Everyone would just wait for the hot momos being prepared in the maktu (steamer). Soupy dumplings in China to the gyoza (Japanese dumplings), I always thought my grandmother’s recipe was special,” she tells us, when we reach out to her after we’ve done our round of tasting. Which explains the authenticity of flavour, though we found the momos lacked juicy-ness that results in a burst of flavours with each bite. It’s a tricky dish to serve ready-to-cook.

Though they have different types of heating methods allotted on the packaging, it takes some trial and error to get it right. You can’t just pop them in the microwave. But, at this price, it’s the best you can get in a city where you’re served six pieces of the dish for '400.

Cost Pack of 10: Rs 150 (frozen) and Rs 175 (ready-to-eat) onwards
At Leading supermarts and online stores.

Vegetarian

Comprising onions, garlic, herbs and some carrots, the flavours are spot on, and the momos are surprisingly slurpy. We wolf them down without the dip that comes encased in the pack, but hit a bump while heating it up as the packaging melts in the microwave.

Chicken

The chicken filling had some herbs added to it, which works in the absence of the perfect dip. But we hit rock bottom with the casing, which though thin, is quite thick at the seam. And hence, it stays uncooked if you microwave it. If you overheat it, the filling dries up, which we learn the hard way. Literally. Some more filling would help give a thinner seam. Or you can simply trim it before heating.

Pork

We like that they’ve kept the pork filling basic — with onion and meat — which doesn’t distract from the essence of the dish. But what does take away from it is the chutney, which is more like a mild Tabasco sauce, though they tell us they have only used tomato, garlic, ginger and spices. It lacks the zing that brings the combination to life, and tastes nothing like the original tomato and chilli chutney.

Spicy chicken (fried)

Keen to sample a well-cooked version, we take a batch home. In the absence of a steamer, we place it (base first) on a pan with some oil and fry it till the bottom starts turning golden. We carefully pour two spoons of water in the hot pan and cover it. The momos start swelling up within four minutes, after which you can fry it more if you want, or eat as is. The spicy chicken was juicier than the rest due to this technique, but the filling wasn’t spicy, with just regular masala. We aren’t complaining, though.

4/5 Exceptional, 3/5 Excellent, 2/5 very Good, 1/5 Good, 0.5/5 Average. Prasuma Momos didn’t know we had ordered. The Guide reviews anonymously and pays for meals

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