The love for food can take you from small unknown streets to well-known restaurants, but there are some popular dishes in Jammu that are found everywhere.
Nowadays momos or dim sums are one of the most loved evening bites of the Jammuites. Moving beyond the original steamed and fried variations, people in Jammu have added a desi twist to this Tibetan delight. Various stops in Jammu these days serve Tandoori momos (marinated tandoor grilled momos) that present one of the best fusion examples of food. The spicy charred exteriors mix in with flavorful steamed interiors and are loaded with the merriment of exceptional flavors.
The history of momo dates back to as early as the fourteenth century. Momo was initially a Newari food in the Kathmandu valley. It was later introduced to Tibet, China and as far away as Japan by a Nepalese princess who was married to a Tibetan king in the late fifteenth century.
Momo is one of the main dishes of Ladakh usually made by packing the seasonally chopped mutton in the dumpling of flour. This dish is originally eaten in Tibet and in some parts of Nepal like Musthang and Pokhra. The dish is globally floated as a Chinese dish which is an example of colonialism. The magic has come a long way lingering its spell of its flavour.
Here are Five reasons for momo’s increasing popularity in Jammu:
1. First, it is cheap. The price of momo varies from ten rupees for one plate (10 to 12 pieces) to 100 rupees. A plate of momo is enough for a light lunch.
2. Second comes the taste. Momo is prepared with special spices, which add unique and original taste to suit the young generation.
3. Momos are easy to eat — unlike, say golgappas, for which you need a wide mouth and military-like precision to enable you to pick up and pop the mint-water-and-potato-chickpea-filled ball into your mouth just before it breaks or spills.
3. Momo’s long history. Momo has figured on Nepalese menus for centuries and it has become part of the national culture.
4. It is found in every corner of the city and every restaurant and hotel, big or small.
5. Momos are easy to customise, made from wheat flour, vegetable oil, chopped onion, garlic, sesame, green chilies, tomatoes, meat, mustard powder, ginger juice and a blend of herbal spices. If you like fried food, momos ably step in — for you get some delicious fried momos, too. A momo is an otherwise healthy (despite the flour casing) and hearty snack. And a plate of momos (sometimes served with broth-like stock) is a meal in itself.
Momo are little chunks of happiness. You can make your own momo with the fillings you like , you can adjust it with your taste bud and that’s what makes it so popular.
These days, you can spot a momo stall in every street corner in Jammu & Kashmir.
