Schezwan Paneer Momos are filled with paneer and vegetables and tossed in a spicy homemade schezwan sauce. These vegetarian dumplings are so good on their own or with a side of spicy chutney.

Momos are small dumplings filled with meat/vegetables which travelled across the borders from Tibet and Nepal to become popular in India. They initially became popular in north-east and eventually everywhere else. I can say that I grew up in India literally during the time when momos gained popularity in northern India. When I was in school, they were not that popular.

But by the time I finished my 12th and was in college, you could see roadside stalls selling steaming hot momos everywhere in Delhi and around. They would mostly sell veggie momos and chicken momos which they would steam and then serve with a spicy red chutney.

I would eat plates of momos during my office days. It was cheap, quick and always delicious. The chutney was always so good (I need to share the recipe). I like making momos at home when the craving kicks in. They are not difficult to make but the dough definitely needs some practice (and time) to get it right.

These Schezwan Paneer Momos are my new favorite! These are like an upgraded version of veggie momos because they are not only filled with veggies and paneer but also pan fried and tossed in my spicy homemade schezwan sauce. You guys have to try this recipe.

There are several parts to this recipe. Let’s talk about each in detail.

Schezwan Sauce

For this recipe, the steamed momos are pan fried and then tossed in schezwan sauce. I used my homemade schezwan sauce here but you can definitely use store bought.

We all can use shortcuts on busy days, so if you don’t have time to make this sauce at home, just use any brand that you like.

Dough for Momos/Dumpling

This is the most important part in making this recipe (along with rolling the dough of course). Honestly, I am not an expert here either but I have learned with time (and watching tons of videos!), so I want to share with you guys what my experience has been.

This is a a very basic dough which will also work well for making just about any dumpling. The dough has just two ingredients- flour and salt.

Add warm water and bring the dough together. Resist the temptation to add more water, you don’t want a wet/super soft dough. A really soft dough is harder to fold and shape.

Once the dough is somewhat coming together, transfer it to a flat surface and knead for 2 to 3 minutes with your hands. It will look much smoother once you have kneaded it.

You then need to cover the dough and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. The longer it rests, the softer and smoother it will become. Once it has rested, you will see that the dough looks much smoother. You then need to divide it and roll it (read on that below).

Veggie-Paneer Filling

These paneer momos have a simple filling made with paneer and veggies. All the vegetables need to very very finely chopped for this recipe. It’s recommended to use a food processor or grater for this.

Paneer: I use store-bought paneer, soak it in warm water for 20 minutes and then grate it using a grater (thicker side of the grater) and use in the recipe. You can also use homemade paneer here.

Vegetables: for the veggies, I have used cabbage, green pepper, carrot and green onions. You can skip any vegetable that you don’t have or like but I would not skipping on the cabbage.

Seasonings: the filling is very lightly seasoned with salt, black pepper and some soy sauce. If you want you can even use some vinegar or dried herbs or just use salt and pepper.

Rolling & Shaping The Momos

This part definitely requires some practice. The bottom line is that you want the edges of the momo wrappers/sheets to be thin so that it all steams at the same time.

The edges get pinched when you shape the momos so it all becomes quite thick once pinched. If the edges are not thin enough, then while the rest of the momo will steam, the part where you pinched the dough will remain raw. Plus it’s no fun biting into thick raw dough!

The size of each sheet/wrapper will depend on how big of small you want the momos to be. For smaller momos, 14 to 16 grams of dough per wrapper is good, while for medium 18-20 grams. One very important thing is to keep your dough covered at all times– whole rolling, keep the remaining dough balls covered.

Once you have rolled the sheets, dust them with flour and keep them covered while you fill each one of them. It’s also a good idea to roll the wrappers in batches. Roll 5 to 6, fill and steam them and then roll more.

For rolling the momo wrapper, you can do it 2 ways–

1. Roll like you would roll a regular roti, with a rolling pin and dusting with dry flour.
2. The second method is what I prefer and recommend- in this method, you hold the dough ball with left hand and your rolling pin with right hand (vice versa if you are left handed). Hold the dough with your thumb and index finger of your left hand and with rolling pin in your right hand roll the edges, rotating the dough ball about 45 degrees after every stroke. First few revolutions should go all the way through the dough ball from top to bottom and then the later ones should just go until half length of the dough ball and the final ones just on the edges. This ensures the edges remain thin. Never lift the rolling pin from the surface while doing so.

You can shape the momos in several ways. I use a very basic method to shape them where I just pinch the edges together and make a half-moon kind of shape. You can make it round as well.

Step by Step Instructions

Make the filling

1- Heat 1.5 tablespoon oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped garlic, green chili and 1/2 cup chopped green onion.

2-Saute for 1 minute.

3- Then add 1/3 cup grated carrots, stir and cook for 30 to 60 seconds.

4- Add 1.2 cups shredded cabbage and 3/4 cup finely chopped green pepper and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often. You want the veggies to remain crunchy and not get super soft.

5- Then add salt and pepper and mix.

6- Add 2 cups grated paneer and mix well.

7- Add 1.5 teaspoons soy sauce and mix.

8- Cook for 1 more minute and your filling is ready. Remove pan from heat and set aside.

Make the dough

1- To a large bowl, add the flour and salt. Mix to combine.

2- Start adding warm water, little by little and mix.

3- Bring the dough together, don’t try to add too much water. We don’t want a soft dough.

4- It will look shaggy at this point but that’s okay. It will get smooth once we knead it. So, transfer it onto a flat surface.

5- Knead the dough for 3 to 4 minutes using your hands, and you will notice that the dough will become much smoother compared to when you started.

6- Now, cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour.

7- After an hour, the dough would have relaxed and will look soft and smooth.

8- Divide the dough into 2 parts and then take 1 part and roll into into a long rope.

Roll the dough

9- Then divide the dough into small pieces- around 14 to 16 grams for small momos and 18 to 22 grams for medium ones.

10- Now, take one dough ball (keep all other dough balls covered at all times) and roll it between your palms. Then place it on the surface and press it with your palm to flatten it.

11 & 12- Then you can either use a rolling pin and roll like you roll a chapati or do like I did- hold the dough with left hand and with your rolling pin with right hand. Now roll the dough with the rolling pin (the pin should never leave the surface), rotating the dough 45 degrees after every stroke. This method ensures that the edges are thin. The edges get crimped/pinched when we shape the momos so it’s important for them to be thin so that all of the momos steams at the same time. Sprinkle flour as you roll so that the dough doesn’t stick.

For the first 2 revolutions, I move the rolling pin all through the length of the dough. Then I move the pin only till half length of the dough for the next 1 to 2 revolutions. For the last revolution, move your rolling pin only on the edges.

Fill, shape & steam

13- You should have a circle of 3 to 3.5 inches in diameter. Dust it with dry flour and keep it covered. I usually like to roll 5 to 6 at a time, then fill and shape them and steam before working on rolling more wrappers.

14- Now, take your rolled wrapper, apply some water around the edges. Place 1 to 1.5 tablespoon of the filling in the center.

15- We are going to shape like a half-moon here. Pinch the corner to bring the edges together.

16- Then make pleats using your fingers. Make a pleat and then pinch the side corner on one side to bring the edges together.

17- Keep making pleats until you reach the end of the other side.

18 & 19- Pinch to seal the end and then press the edges to give the momo a half moon kind of shape.

20- Boil water in your steamer on medium heat. Once the water starts boiling, open the lid and place a sheet of parchment paper on the steamer (else the momos will stick). Place the momos in the steamer, cover with a lid and steam for 5 to 6 minutes. The momos will be non-sticky and translucent once steamed. Steam all the momos similarly.

Toss in Schezwan sauce

21- I am tossing only 6 momos here. You may multiply the recipe 5 times if you want to toss the entire batch of momos made in this recipe. Heat around 1-2 teaspoons of oil in a pan on medium heat. Then add the steamed momos to the pan.

22- Sauté for 1 minute until they few have brown spots, and flip them over. Cook for 30 more seconds.

23- Add 1/4 cup + 1 to 2 tablespoons of prepared schezwan sauce. Toss to combine until all the momos are coated with the sauce. You can add more or less of the sauce according to your taste.

24- Garnish with lots of chopped cilantro and green onions. Serve these paneer momos hot!

Serving Suggestions

These paneer momos have to be served immediately. Momos develop a crust with in few minutes as they cool down. So, best is to serve them hot.

If you don’t want to toss the momos in schezwan sauce then serve them as such with soy sauce or with a hot sauce. If you toss them in schezwan sauce like I did, then they are good to serve as it. They don’t really need a sauce.

Storage & Re-heating

If you have leftover momos, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. I have found the best way to re-heat them is to put them back in the steamer again.

Steam for 2 minutes until the crust softens again and serve immediately.

Store-bought Wrappers

If you can’t be bothered going through this whole process of making the dough, then rolling it (I know it can get long!) then you can definitely use store bought wrappers.

Gyoza/Potstickers wrappers will work fine, you can find them in Asian stores.

Tips & Notes

• Please read all my tips and notes first on making the dough, rolling the dough especially if you have never made it before.
• Making the dough, rolling and steaming it does take some time so it might be a good idea to make the filling in advance. It will save you some time on the day you plan to eat these momos.
• Keep the dough covered at all times. When you divide the dough into dough balls, work with 1 ball and keep remaining balls covered. After you have rolled the wrappers, keep the rolled wrappers covered until you have to fill and shape them.
• It’s a good idea to roll only few wrappers at a time (around 5 to 6), fill, steam and then roll more.
• Do not overfill the momos else it will be difficult to shape them.
• Your dough should never be super soft else you will have difficulty shaping the momos.
• For taking a super short cut- use store bought Gyoza wrappers and store bought schezwan sauce.

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