Veg Tandoori Momos Recipe with Ingredients and Tips

The succulent, juicy, spicy, and smoky flavour of tandoori momos is something that is now set on the taste buds of street food lovers. Served on local food stalls and fine dining restaurants alike, this Indo-Tibetan fusion is something to vouch for. If picturing the feeling of these tantalising steamed momos marinated with tangy and spicy flavours complementing the crunch of vegetable stuffing, cooked to a perfect crisp, makes you drool, it’s time to try these veg tandoori momos out at home. With a few simple steps and adopting some simple tricks, you can put your cravings to rest and please your loved ones during lazy rainy days or evening parties. Let’s quickly see how to prepare this popular snack.

Ingredients for Making Tandoori Momos 

To learn how to make tandoori momos, you must first be thorough with the ingredients you require for the same. Since this is an Indian adaptation of the momos, you will find almost all the ingredients easily in an Indian store or your kitchen.

Prep Time: 10 mins | Serves: 4 | Cooking Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

For Tandoori Momos Filling

• 1 small whole grated cauliflower

• 1 cup crumbled paneer

• Salt to taste

• 4-5 green parts of spring onions, chopped

• 1-inch grated ginger

• 1 tbsp tandoori masala (any store-bought masala would do)

• 3-4 fresh chopped green chillies

For Tandoori Momos Dough

• ½ tsp oil

• ¼ tsp salt

• ½ tsp vinegar

• Water as required

• 1 cup maida

For Marination

• ¼ cup fresh cream

• 1 tbsp roasted gram flour

• 1 tsp tandoori masala

• 1 tbsp mustard oil

• 1 tsp degi red chilli powder

• Salt to taste

• 1 cup thick curd

• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

For Smoking

• 1 tsp ghee

• The husk of 1 coconut

For Frying Tandoori Momos

• Juice of half a lemon

• Smoked momos

• One medium diced and deseeded tomato

• 1 tbsp butter

• 3-4 wooden skewers

• One medium diced capsicum

Nutritional Value of Tandoori Momos 

The filling of tandoori momos can be made healthy with vegetables and stuffing of your choice, which increases its nutritional value. Moreover, the fact that the tandoori momos recipe does not require a lot of oil also makes it a comparatively healthier snack.

Following is the nutritional value of one serving of tandoori momos:

Calories: 350 Kcal 

Source: www.tarladalal.com

Steps for Making Tasty Tandoori Momos 

The procedure for making veg or tandoori paneer momos is a bit detailed but worth it. If you follow the steps carefully, you can ace the momos game. Here’s how to make tandoori momos in a step-by-step manner:

For preparing the filling

Step 1: If you are making vegetable momos with no paneer, you first need to remove water from the vegetables that have a lot of water content such as cauliflower. So, add the grated cauliflower or cabbage along with some salt and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Once the water oozes out, drain it and keep the vegetables aside.

Step 2: Combine crumbled paneer, green chilies, ginger, squeezed vegetables, the green part of spring onion and tandoori masala. Mix everything well.

For the dough

Step 1: We need to prepare a semi-soft dough for veg tandoori momos (neither too soft nor too stiff.) For this, add salt, maida, water and vinegar and knead the ingredients into a semi-soft dough.

Step 2: Once kneaded, apply some oil and knead once again. Give it a round shape and cover it with a muslin cloth for 8-10 minutes.

For marination

Step 1: The real flavour of these momos comes from their marination so this is a very important step. Prepare a marinade from fresh cream, thick curd, salt, deghi red chilli powder, tandoori masala, mustard oil, ginger-garlic paste and roasted gram flour. Mix everything well. 

Frying and Smoking the Momos

Step 1: This is the last process. Make small balls from the prepared dough and roll them in thin circles.

Step 2: Apply water on the corners and keep a small spoonful of filling on the center. Do not place an excess filling, as it might be tough to shape the momos. Give it the desired shape.

Step 3: After you are done folding all the momos, in the same manner, heat the oil in a wok and then half fry the momos. This shall ensure that the skin is crispy and the filling is juicy.

Step 4: Add these half-friend momos to the marinade and let them rest for 10-15 minutes.

Step 5: While the flavours infuse in our momos, put the coconut husk on flame and let it burn until red hot.

Step 6: Remove the husk from the flame and add it to a bowl along with diced tomatoes, capsicum, and marinated momos. Top the coconut husk with some ghee. Once it starts releasing the smoke, leave it covered for 4-5 minutes.

Step 7: Remove the husk and char each piece on the open flames.

Step 8: Keep them aside and heat a pan. Now add butter, tomato, and capsicum. Sauté this for a minute. Now add the momos and toss them together.

Step 9: Add some lime juice and blend it with the momos for 1-2 minutes.

Step 10: Prick the momos with wooden skewers.

Step 11: As the last step, slightly fry the skewed momos in some oil in a pan and cover it until the bottom of the tandoori momos gets crispy while the insides are still moist. Serve hot with momo chutney. 

Expert Tips for Making Tandoori Momos 

When we talk about how to make tandoori momos in the most professional way, certain expert tips from the chefs themselves will help you fulfill the purpose. Some of these tips have been shared below:

● It is very important to keep the vegetables dry so that the water does not tear the skin of the momos while they are being cooked. Since tandoori momos require quite a few stages of cooking, it is better to keep this in mind. 

● Lay special emphasis on letting the dough and marinade rest properly as the better the ingredients are allowed to rest, the better the flavours will emanate.

● If you are finding it difficult to make circles from the dough, roll a thin chapati and make circles using a cookie cutter.

Notes/Instructions for Making Tandoori Momos 

A few side notes while preparing tandoori paneer momos will help you make tasty momos in less time. Firstly, you must knead the dough well and ensure the skin is thin. Since momos contain maida, a thick skin will make them chewy and you won’t get the smoky flavour and crunch of vegetables to the fullest. 

Tandoori momos taste amazing with grated paneer or the addition of as many vegetables as you can add. So, if your kids frown at the sight of vegetables like beans and carrots, you can chop them finely and add them to the momos to enhance the flavour and provide them with the nutrients of the vegetables.

The aforementioned recipe has been stated for those who do not have a tandoor. It will be even better if you have one since it will impart authentic tandoori flavour to momos and make momos tandoori in the real sense.

Finally, the tandoori momos recipe tastes great when it is prepared more on the spicy side. You can also serve it with hot and spicy momos chutney, so do not hold back on adding the spices.

Conclusion 

We hope that with these simple tips, you won’t get disappointed when you make that perfect place of veg tandoori momos and enjoy them. If you are bored of trying the regular steamed or fried momos and wish to try something different that reminds you of typical flavourful Indian dishes, you can make these momos in a jiffy and relish them.

FAQs 

What does tandoori momos best taste with?

Tandoori momos are usually served with mayonnaise and momos chutney.

Can tandoori momos be baked?

Tandoori momos can be baked on a wire mesh as an alternative to roasting them on skewers on a flame.

Is there any secret ingredient that can enhance the flavour of these momos?

You can add crushed dried fenugreek leaves to the tandoori masala mix for added flavour.