The Tibetian Momo Story!

 Momos are half-moons or plump round purses in shape. Although store-bought wrappers can be used, most Tibetan households here have a small wooden dowel reserved for rolling out the thin rounds of dough. Back in Tibet, wheat was even scarcer than meat, so momos were reserved for special occasions such as Losar, the Tibetan New Year, which begins on Wednesday. Common meat used in Tibet for momos is Yak meat.

Yak meat can be lean and tough; wise Tibetan cooks made their sha momos juicier by incorporating a little oil and water into the filling. The trick also works with chopped beef in America; yak meat is raised in Colorado and Wyoming and is now served in some New York restaurants, but most places use beef. As steam penetrates the dumplings, the onion, cilantro, and ginger-scented juices liquefy into a hot, savory broth.

Momo skins are not very thin, which helps to contain the liquid that comes out with the first bite. (Momos can also be fried, but they aren't as juicy or satisfying.) Tibetans dab sepen, a brick-red chile paste, on a plate after sucking out the broth, and dip the momos in, holding them with their fingertips. Crispy momos can be served as an appetizer or as the main course.

Most Tibetans ate a sparse diet as nomads on the high Tibetan plateau, which is nearly one million square miles in size and surrounded by the Himalaya, Kunlun, and Qilian mountains. They ate grains and beans, cold-weather vegetables like onions, potatoes, and turnips, and meat, butter, and cheese from their yak herds. Dishes are flavored with chills and Sichuan peppercorns on the eastern border, where Tibet borders the Chinese province of Sichuan, and cumin and garam masala on the western border, near India and Nepal. Overall, Momos are the food of comfort, they are the food of Tibet. Now you can find frozen momos online and accessible to just about anyone.