Meat Momos (Nepali Meat Dumplings)

At the end of each month, The Cook & Kitchen Staff select some of the best recipes sent to Recipe-a-Day during the month, and post them to the entire membership. Todays offering is from a Recipe-a-Day member in Missouri who sent a lovely collection of Nepali cookery our way. Youll notice that theres no beef in any of the recipes our Missouri member sent our way, as Nepal is a Hindu nation and cows are sacred. The Kitchen Staff prepared our Momos with lamb, but weve been assured that chicken works well, also. To prepare the dough combine flour, oil, salt, and water in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, then knead until the dough is thoroughly blended, about 8-10 minutes. Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes. Knead well again before making wrappers. To prepare the meat filling, thoroughly combine all the filling ingredients in a large mixing bowl, adding salt and pepper to adjust the seasoning. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to allow all ingredients to impart their unique flavors. This also improves the consistency of the filling. To assemble the Momos, give the dough a final knead. Dust work area with flour. Prepare 1-inch-round dough balls. Taking a ball, roll the dough between the palms of your hands. Gently flatten the ball with your palm to form about a 2-inch circle. Make a few semi-flattened circles, then use a rolling pin to roll out each flattened circle into a wrapper. For well-executed Momos, it is essential that the middle portion of the wrapper be slightly thicker than the edges; this ensures the structural integrity of the dumplings during packing and steaming. Hold the edges of the semi-flattened dough with one hand and with the other hand begin rolling the edges of the dough out further, swirling a bit at a time. Continue until the wrapper is about 3 inches in diameter. Repeat with the remaining semi-flattened dough circles. Cover with a bowl to prevent from drying. For packing, hold a wrapper in one palm and put one tablespoon of the meat filling mixture in the center; and with the other hand, bring all edges together to the center, making pleats. Pinch and twist the pleats to ensure the absolute closure of the stuffed dumpling. This is essential to produce good tasting, juicy dumplings. Heat up a steamer, and oil the steamer rack well. This is critical because it will prevent dumplings from sticking. Arrange uncooked Momos in the steamer. Close the lid, and allow steaming until the dumplings are cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. Take the dumplings off the steamer, and serve immediately. Posted to dailyrecipe@recipe-a-day.com by Recipe-a-Day on Oct 30, 1998, converted by MM_Buster v2.0l.