The Interesting Tale of The Origin Of Momo

The popularity of Indian street food has spread far wide across the globe. Momo is a celebrated street food of India. But the origin of momo does belong to India. But the country has adopted the momo culture quite well and is loved by all ages.

Momo is a stuffed dumpling that is steamed and eaten soup or sauce. Momo is highly popular across the Indian sub-continent and so it is easily available from street food vendor shops to restaurants.

History Of  The Origin Of Momo:

Momo’s popularity across the globe makes it a star of street food. But India is not the country of origin of momo, though the country has very well adopted the momo culture and also presented it with its own twisting ways to the eaters.

The history of the origin of momo is as old as 1800 years. Momo is the ruling food in Nepal. It is not just street food but also a divine love for the people of Nepal.

Many believe that the origin of momo is from Nepal. But it is not true because it belongs to Tibet. But the credit goes to Nepal for popularizing the dish beyond the national and international boundaries.

It is said that the Newari merchants of Kathmandu used to travel to Lasha, Tibet for trading. They picked up the recipe and brought it back to Nepal.

In Tibet, momo was stuff with yak meat but the Newari people minced buffalo meat and Nepali spices for stuffing. Slowly it became the favorite dish in every Nepali household.

From Nepal, the recipe reached the north-eastern states of India and gradually spread across the country. Though this is the most conceived theory of the origin of momo, there are also other theories.

Shillong in Meghalaya is known for serving the best momo throughout the country. Apart from the northeast, now Bengal and Delhi are favorite destinations for momo.

Legend has it that a Nepali princess married to a Tibetan king. After she married she introduced the recipe in Tibet and later she spread the recipe internationally.

Another story says that some Tibetan merchants came down to the north-eastern part of India and introduced the recipe of momo and eventually it reached every corner of the country.

Popularity Of Momo In India:

There is no doubt about the craze and popularity of momo in India. But talking about momo’s origin in India is still unclear. Various theories of origin have been put forward but none have been conceiving one.

Some say when a few Nepali people came down to India in search of work, they brought along with them this recipe.

Again some say that few Tibetan merchants came and settled in the north-eastern states of India and introduced the recipe which gradually spread across the country.

Momo is a savory delicacy of Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Dharamsala, Ladhak, Arunachal Pradesh. People from these places have created their own local variety of momo.

A basic way to consume momo is to have it steam. Momo in India is either serve with soup or with red hot chili sauce.

Eventually, Indian people’s love and experimentation for street food have led to the creation of a variety of momos.

One such variety is veg momo which is stuff with chopped vegetables and Indian spice mix. It is introduce to the vegetarian population of India.

A variety of momo is available in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian segments- fried momo, steamed momo, tandoori momo, chili momo, keema momo, paneer momo, cheese momo, soup momo, gravy momo, pan-fried momo, Afghani momo, green momo, shrimp momo, fish momo, chocolate momo, and many more.