Pork and Cabbage Momos (Dumplings)

Translated: happiness!

Dumplings are supposedly time-consuming and labour intensive. Bah! Not if you buy ready-made mundu or wanton or dumpling wraps, they're not! And making the filling is the simplest thing in the whole world, one can do it with one's eyes closed (but this is probably not a good idea).

Ingredients:
Carrots--chopped into tiny pieces.
Cabbage--ditto.
Pork--ditto.
Soya Sauce.
Salt, sugar.
(Ajinamoto, shh.) [Ajinamoto=MSG]

How to:
Tres simple. Heat oil in a saucepan/skillet/wok. Fry crushed garlic and ginger till they start changing colour and smelling of fried ginger and garlic. Add carrots and pork. Fry well for about three to five minutes (or till carrots brown and pork turns white, then brown). Add carrots, and keep turning over a medium to high flame till cabbage is well cooked (add a little oil if needed). Add soya sauce, and season with salt and a pinch of sugar. Cook for another minute, stirring constantly. Turn off flame, add a sprinkling of ajinamoto. Mix well. Here's the picture parade.







Now, ideally, make a regular stretchy dough with lots of extra flour to make it smooth and non-sticky. Or, do as I did and buy dumpling or wanton wrappers :-) Put a little filling in each, wet your forefinger, run it along the dumpling's edges, and seal it well, folding one side over the other crinkling the edges.




Now, ideally, steam the dumplings like one would steam idlies. In the unavailability of a steamer, bring water to a roiling boil and drop them in. They will turn sticky and you might think they're about to melt into the pan (I did!), but soon they'll turn translucent and we quite thoroughly cooked. Lift them out of the water with a perforated spatula. DON'T let the water go below boiling; non-boiling water WILL seep into the dumplings and undo them. Serve right away, or pan fry and serve, with a dipping sauce.







NOTE: if you're not sure about boiling/steaming, you can bake them right away at around 400F, on a greased tray.