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Steamed momos in instant pot

Instant Pot Steamed Dumplings (Momos)

These instant pot steamed dumplings are Tibetan vegetable momos or dimsums often served with spicy tomato chutney. If you have ever been to a Nepali or Tibetan restaurant, these are one of the delicious appetizer or snack that you should try. Here is my vegetable instant pot steamed momos made in under 30-minutes 
5 from 8 votes
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Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack, Snacks
Cuisine: Asian, Chinese, Indian, Tibetan
Keyword: Instant pot momos, Instant pot steamed dumplings, Spicy dimsums, Spicy momos, Tibetan momos, vegan dumplings, vegan instant pot steamed dumplings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes
30 minutes
Servings: 5
Calories: 310kcal
Author: Sophie
Cost: $7

Equipment

  • Instant pot

Ingredients

Dough Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour or half whole wheat and half apf
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • Salt to taste

Veggie Filling

  • 2 cups shredded green cabbage or 1 cup shredded cabbage and 1 cup minced shiitake mushrooms
  • ¾ cup shredded carrot
  • ½ cup finely chopped green onions both white and green parts
  • 2 teaspoon salt more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 3-4 cloves garlic minced
  • ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
  • 4 oz extra firm tofu crumbled and drained (preferably pre-cooked but you can use raw)

Spices and Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce optional
  • 1 teaspoon chili oil Or 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Instructions

Make the dumpling dough

  • Take a large mixing bowl, take the flour and salt. Mix well and add water slowly followed by oil and mix the dough until it comes together.
    Dough for air-fryer pani puri
  • Knead the dough well for a few minutes till the dough is stretchy and smooth. Cover the dough with a damp towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make the filling

  • Mix together all the veggies and add salt. Allow the mixture to stand for 5-10 minutes, and then use a kitchen towel to squeeze the water out of veggies. You can also use a nut milk bag or muslin cloth for this.
    Filling ingredients
  • Once squeezed, add the veggies to a bowl, season with pepper, chili oil, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix well. Your filling is ready. Taste and add salt if needed.
    Make the momo filling
  • If you want to make a sautéed filling, refer to the instructions under the notes section.

Shape the dumplings

  • Start by working with the dough half an hour after the resting time. Divide the dough into small pieces or Squeeze a ball sized dough out and leave the rest under the damp towel.
  • Use a rolling pin and roll the ball sized dough on a lightly floured counter or rolling base until it is a very thin disc-like tortilla.
  • Try to make this as thin as you can. To make the rolling easier, flip and dust with more flour as you roll the dough ball into a thin disc. This helps the dough not to stick on the rolling base.
  • Use a cookie cutter to cut the disc into 3 ½ - 4-inch circles. Remove the scraps of dough and reuse it for making another disc.
    Roll out and fill the dumplings
  • Take one piece of the small circle and place it on your palm or on the rolling board. Now add 1 tablespoon of filling in the center. Moisten the edges with little water and then fold and punch the circle edges to form a round dumpling.
    pleat the edges of dumplings
  • Use the same process to make more dumplings and place the finished ones on a lightly greased plate.
    ready to steam dumplings

Steam in the instant pot

  • Prepare a steamer basket or rack and lightly brush it with oil. Add two cups of water in the inner pot and place the steamer basket or the rack on a trivet. Now place each dumpling or momo on it. Leave a little gap between them as they may stick to each other while cooking.
    steaming dumplings in instant pot
  • Set the instant pot to steam mode and set 12 minutes on the timer. Cover the instant pot with a glass lid or secure the lid while the vent is open. Steam the dumplings for 12 minutes or until the dough is not sticky to touch.
  • Use silicone tongs to remove the dumplings and transfer them to a plate. Repeat the same steaming process with the remaining dumplings.
  • Serve the instant pot steamed dumplings warm with dark sweet soy sauce or chutney.
    Instant pot steamed dumplings

Notes

  • This recipe makes around 32 small dumplings. Serving size is 6 dumplings per serving. 
  • The filling for these momos can be sautéed in oil too. Crush some garlic and add to a tablespoon of hot oil. Now add all the veggies and sauté everything till they are sweaty. Add all the sauces + seasoning and cook in high heat till the mixture is dry yet crunchy.
  • I prefer the raw filling over this sautéed one. But I often make this version whenever I make schezwan momos.
  • Customize the filling as per your choice.  Tofu haters can always skip it, and add some cooked glass noodles, shredded seaweed, corn, and even pickled kimchi.
  • These dumplings store well in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I prefer to steam them again before serving than just reheating in a microwave.
  • Leftover dumplings also work perfectly in other recipes like saucy momos, dumpling soup, or even instant pot wonton soup.
  • You can use whole-wheat flour to make the dough. However, the whole-wheat instant pot steamed dumplings are not as soft as the APF dough momos. 

Nutrition

Serving: 265g | Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 4g