Vegan Momo [Napalese Street Dumplings]

Momo Dipping Sauce - Can be made a day in advance

2 cups of water
4 ripe organic vine tomatoes
1-4 dried Kashmiri chilli peppers (depending on your spiciness desire)*
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger, peeled
3 T blanched almonds (white, no peel)
1 T tahini
1 t sugar
1 t white vinegar
¼ t salt
1 t soy sauce

* NOTE: This dipping sauce can be made with no chilis or as many as you like. We prefer ours not spicy, but it is traditionally made as a spicy sauce. You can sub Kashmiri chilli powder or cayenne. Not as authentic, but you do what you gotta do!

In a saucepan, add water, tomatoes (whole), chilis (if using) garlic, ginger, and almonds. Boil for about 5 minutes until the peel in the tomatoes cracks. Drain off all of the water. Let tomatoes cool enough to remove peels. Toss everything into high speed blender with tahini, sugar, salt, vinegar, and soy sauce, and blend until very smooth. Do NOT add any additional liquid. Store in fridge. Can be served cold or room temp. Serve as a dipping sauce for Momo.

Inspired by recipe from Hebbar's Kitchen
https://hebbarskitchen.com/momos-chutney-recipe-momo-sauce/

Momo (Like Potstickers or Dumplings)

NOTE: 45 minutes before you are ready to make up the momos, take the gyoza wrappers out of the freezer and let them sit in the closed package at room temperature. They should be ready to work with after that amount of time. You can also make these from scratch, but I'm too lazy!

1 package of frozen wheat gyoza wrappers (from Asian store)
1 bag of shredded green cabbage (plain-- not with carrots or red cabbage)
1 cup carrots
2 green onions, white part only)
4 cloves of garlic
1 T fresh ginger
1/4 cup cilantro
Salt and black pepper to taste
4 oz firm tofu crumbed into tiny pieces
1 T low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 t liquid smoke

In a food processor, process carrots, cabbage, green onions (white part), garlic and ginger into tiny pieces. Place mixture into a skillet over medium heat. Cook until moisture is released and evaporated, leaving a dry-ish veggie mixture.

While veggies are cooking, mix crumbled tofu with soy sauce and liquid smoke. Spread out on parchment paper and bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring inches halfway. Add tofu to the veggie mixture. Cover (leaving it open just slightly) and refrigerate until ready to make up the momos.

Ready to make the momos! Work with only ONE Momo at a time.

Have a very small bowl of water ready. Hold the wrapper in the palm of your hand. Brush water all the way around the edge of the wrapper with your finger so it will seal well.  Place a small amount of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Pinch the dough around in a circle until you have completely closed the wrapper. Press the Momo gently down on a wooden board to flatten the bottom a little. Make up all of the Momo before steaming them. You can set them on a piece of parchment paper until you are ready to steam them.

Add 1 cup of water into your instant pot. Place the metal stand in the bottom. Place a steamer basket (I love our Instant Pot silicone one. It worked great for this!!!) On the stand. Cut a piece of parchment paper, into the shape of your steamer basket bottom and create 5 to 6 holes around the perimeter, about 1/2 inch in and 1 hole near the center. This is so that the steam can come up through. Place that parchment paper down at the bottom of your steamer basket. Set momos on the parchment paper but not over the he's and not touching watching other. You should be able to steam 6 to 7 at a time. Close the lid. Press your Instant Pot STEAM button and set for 2 minutes (valve on SEALING). When the 2 minutes is up, let the lid stay in for 5 more minutes, then release the steam. For each batch add 2-3 T of water into the pot to replenish what steamed out. SERVE IMMEDIATELY.