City goes gaga over momos
By: Disha Dinesh
With more people from the North East making Bengaluru their home,momos seem to be the next big star in the city 's street food scene
Street food in Bengaluru has usually meant a variety of dosas, idlis, vadas, bondas, bajjis, panipuri…you get the drift. But there’s a new entrant in this space – the humble momo. Served streetside, piping hot with a serving of chilli-tomato chutney on the side, momos, we wager, are becoming the city’s new panipuri. And Bengalureans are scarfing them down by the plates – seven to eight on an average.
The taste of home
All of these stall owners put their heart and soul into their momos – as well as family recipes. Like MOMOS, started in 2010 by Poonam Lama (42)and her brother Sunil (24). “Fast food mein faida hai (Fast food is profitable),” she says, whipping up Chicken and Veg momos Tibetan style, a recipe handed down by her husband’s (35-year-old Karma Dhorje’s) Tibetan family. “The chillies we use in the sauce come from Darjeeling and we use a little bit of ghee and oil while cooking the carrot, cabbage and potato filling,” says Lama.
Then there’s Dawa Lepcha, who sells his wares in the Jyotinivas alley. Fed up of ‘maaliks’ who never appreciated his efforts, he quit his 12-year-long career in the city’s restaurant service industry to do his own thing and set up this stall in 2009. He may owe his initial popularity to the student crowd, but it could also have something to do with his recipe – traditional, from Thakdha Tea Estate, Darjeeling, where he hails. “Along with the Darjeeling chilli, I use ginger garlic paste and tomatoes to flavour my chutney and unlike others, I do not fry the filling in oil, it is 100 per cent steamed,” claims Lepcha.
Loving it
On an average vegetarian plates at momo stalls are priced between Rs 40-Rs 50 and non-vegetarian Rs 50-Rs 60.“It is very reasonable,” says Shivani Rana (21) a Wipro employee, who eats them at least thrice a week at Prema Serpa's Hot Momos stall in BTM because they’re “filling, tasty and healthy at the same time.” Just like Aishwarya Mohan (20), a BBM student, who loves momos for being a “wholesome meal". “Momos are hot and spicy, suitable for this rainy weather,” agrees Prathamesh Singh (27), software engineer.
Clearly, Bengaluru has quite the taste for these momos. Buoyed by the response to their stall (after five years in an Andhra Chicken Food business, which didn’t work out) Poonam and Sunil have set up two more stalls, one in Shanti Nagar being run by “a new Tibetan recruit who came looking for work” and one on the other side of Forum run by “Tasi”, also fromTibet . “A lot of students come around 4-5 pm and working people around 7-8 pm,” says Lama, who rakes in Rs 2,000 on weekdays and Rs 3,000 on the weekends between 4 pm and 9 pm.
“Bengaluru has people from all over the place – people who have travelled and experienced different foods. And when they are offered momos by North-easterners, they find it authentic,” believes Ronald George (40), owner of the modest momo restaurant Momo Shop in RT Nagar since 2010). Plus, the momos are pre-made, so it easy to just steam and sell and for customers, so it is a quick, on-the-go food choice, he points out.
Momo mania
“Customers are like family”, says Lepcha, who was among the few ‘momowallas’ in the area when he started. He starts early – kneading dough and grinding his chicken at 6 am in the morning and works until 4 pm, after which he takes a break to eat before heading to work at his momo stall near JNC. With Chicken priced at Rs 60 per plate and Veg at Rs 50, Lepcha sells around 35-40 plates a day. As for Jeevan, customers love his stuff.
“I have been momo hunting since I returned from Delhi last year,” says Doctor Dennis K Thomas (32), “and these guys are the best!” His brother Doctor Desmet K Thomas (28) agrees, nodding and wolfing down a plate. The non-veg momos are his best-selling item, Jeevan says, citing a figure of around 15 plates on a weekday.
George, who first fell in love with the momo on a professional mountaineering course in 1993 where he learnt the art of making them, has been scouring Bengaluru for good momos and starts every day with a plate of them. “Back in 2010, there weren't any momo vendors. Of late their numbers have increased,” he says. And he’s right – from Prema Serpa and friends serving momos in BTM Layout and Rishi Katuwal and Sajan Gurung in Indiranagar, it does seem like the city has been momo-fied.
With more people from the North East making Bengaluru their home,
Street food in Bengaluru has usually meant a variety of dosas, idlis, vadas, bondas, bajjis, panipuri…you get the drift. But there’s a new entrant in this space – the humble momo. Served streetside, piping hot with a serving of chilli-tomato chutney on the side, momos, we wager, are becoming the city’s new panipuri. And Bengalureans are scarfing them down by the plates – seven to eight on an average.
A stroll down the lane near Forum Mall in Koramangala throws up no less than five independent momo stalls, each thronged by a motley crowd of movie goers, hungry shoppers and techies looking for an interesting meal. One of them is a stall started a year ago by Jeevan Dhami (35) and his wife Phulmaya Chetri (38). The duo has been steaming momos Nepal-style. They also offer fried veg and non-veg momos. Jeevan, who has 18 years experience in the hotel service industry, switched to this business after he dislocated a shoulder and broke his leg in an accident. “It (selling momos) doesn’t demand much movement,” he says, by way of explanation.
The taste of home
All of these stall owners put their heart and soul into their momos – as well as family recipes. Like MOMOS, started in 2010 by Poonam Lama (42)and her brother Sunil (24). “Fast food mein faida hai (Fast food is profitable),” she says, whipping up Chicken and Veg momos Tibetan style, a recipe handed down by her husband’s (35-year-old Karma Dhorje’s) Tibetan family. “The chillies we use in the sauce come from Darjeeling and we use a little bit of ghee and oil while cooking the carrot, cabbage and potato filling,” says Lama.
Then there’s Dawa Lepcha, who sells his wares in the Jyotinivas alley. Fed up of ‘maaliks’ who never appreciated his efforts, he quit his 12-year-long career in the city’s restaurant service industry to do his own thing and set up this stall in 2009. He may owe his initial popularity to the student crowd, but it could also have something to do with his recipe – traditional, from Thakdha Tea Estate, Darjeeling, where he hails. “Along with the Darjeeling chilli, I use ginger garlic paste and tomatoes to flavour my chutney and unlike others, I do not fry the filling in oil, it is 100 per cent steamed,” claims Lepcha.
Loving it
On an average vegetarian plates at momo stalls are priced between Rs 40-Rs 50 and non-vegetarian Rs 50-Rs 60.“It is very reasonable,” says Shivani Rana (21) a Wipro employee, who eats them at least thrice a week at Prema Serpa's Hot Momos stall in BTM because they’re “filling, tasty and healthy at the same time.” Just like Aishwarya Mohan (20), a BBM student, who loves momos for being a “wholesome meal". “Momos are hot and spicy, suitable for this rainy weather,” agrees Prathamesh Singh (27), software engineer.
Clearly, Bengaluru has quite the taste for these momos. Buoyed by the response to their stall (after five years in an Andhra Chicken Food business, which didn’t work out) Poonam and Sunil have set up two more stalls, one in Shanti Nagar being run by “a new Tibetan recruit who came looking for work” and one on the other side of Forum run by “Tasi”, also from
“Bengaluru has people from all over the place – people who have travelled and experienced different foods. And when they are offered momos by North-easterners, they find it authentic,” believes Ronald George (40), owner of the modest momo restaurant Momo Shop in RT Nagar since 2010). Plus, the momos are pre-made, so it easy to just steam and sell and for customers, so it is a quick, on-the-go food choice, he points out.
Momo mania
“Customers are like family”, says Lepcha, who was among the few ‘momowallas’ in the area when he started. He starts early – kneading dough and grinding his chicken at 6 am in the morning and works until 4 pm, after which he takes a break to eat before heading to work at his momo stall near JNC. With Chicken priced at Rs 60 per plate and Veg at Rs 50, Lepcha sells around 35-40 plates a day. As for Jeevan, customers love his stuff.
“I have been momo hunting since I returned from Delhi last year,” says Doctor Dennis K Thomas (32), “and these guys are the best!” His brother Doctor Desmet K Thomas (28) agrees, nodding and wolfing down a plate. The non-veg momos are his best-selling item, Jeevan says, citing a figure of around 15 plates on a weekday.
George, who first fell in love with the momo on a professional mountaineering course in 1993 where he learnt the art of making them, has been scouring Bengaluru for good momos and starts every day with a plate of them. “Back in 2010, there weren't any momo vendors. Of late their numbers have increased,” he says. And he’s right – from Prema Serpa and friends serving momos in BTM Layout and Rishi Katuwal and Sajan Gurung in Indiranagar, it does seem like the city has been momo-fied.
