Ragi Chicken Momos

For the stuffing:

Wash the chicken and pat dry. 

Pulse all the ingredients listed under ‘stuffing’ in a mixer grinder for a few seconds, until the chicken is finely minced, and the ingredients are well combined. 

For the momo wrappers:

Mix together the sprouted ragi flour and rice flour. Keep aside.

Turn on the stove and place a pot on a medium-high flame. Add water, and bring it to a boil.

Once the water starts boiling, add salt, then ladle in the ragi and rice flour mixture. Turn the flame to low, cover the pot with a lid, and let the mixture cook for about a minute.

Remove the lid and mix the dough using the back of a wooden ladle or a wooden rolling pin.

Put the lid back on and turn off the flame, allowing the mixture to cook slowly.

Once slightly cool, remove the mixture onto a working platform. Using the back of a small, flat-bottomed bowl, start pressing down and stretching the dough.

When the dough becomes cool enough to handle, knead it with the edge of your palm, stretching it to develop elasticity.

Heat the remaining four tablespoons of water. Add it to the dough gradually, while kneading, to make a soft, pliable dough.

When the dough looks supple, add oil, and knead it again.

Shape the dough into a log-like structure and make equal-sized balls from the same. The dough should yield approximately 25 to 30 small balls.

Wet a clean cloth. Place the dough balls in a bowl, and cover it with the cloth.

Take a piece of the dough out of the bowl, and place it on a surface dusted with some rice flour. Using the rolling pin, shape it into a circle, making sure that the edges are thinner than the centre.

Repeat this process for all the momo wrappers.

For the momos:

Place one teaspoon of the chicken stuffing at the centre of a wrapper. Fold it into a half-moon shape, and dab the edges with a little water to seal. As this ragi dough will not stretch as much as wheat, the half-moon or gujiya fold works best.

Turn on the stove and place the frying pan on it. Add oil, and let it get hot.

Place as many momos as will comfortably fit onto the hot pan. Once the bottom of the momo is fried and crisp, add about six tablespoons of water to the pan, and cover with a lid to steam.

Steam the momos for approximately 10 to 12 minutes on a low flame, until the water dries out.

Remove the momos onto a plate.

Add oil to the frying pan and repeat steps 17 through 19 in batches until all the momos are cooked.

Serve the momos hot with the prepared tomato chutney.

For the chutney:

Turn on the stove.

Use a fork to prick the garlic cloves, or hold them with a pair of tongs, and roast them over the open flame.

Similarly, roast the whole red chillies as well as the tomatoes on an open flame.

Let the tomatoes cool down, then peel off their skins. Chop them roughly.

Place the roughly chopped tomatoes, roasted garlic cloves, roasted red chillies, chopped coriander leaves, and salt into the mixer grinder.

Blitz the mixture a few times until it has the consistency of a chutney.

Pour into an air-tight glass jar and refrigerate for a longer shelf-life.