The sun is just beginning to set, and the air is heavy and laced with the smell of hot tea and cigarettes. As a gentleman pours tea into tiny paper cups for the customers, his colleague lifts up a steaming plate, yelling into the crowd, “Veg momos!”. Customers crowd around him claiming to have ordered the plate of hot vegetable dumplings. The cook promptly begins preparing a fresh plate. It would be hard for one to miss such a scene in Viman Nagar, given how common they are. You only need to spend fifteen minutes driving around the locality to see several such scenes in one single night. With scores of hawkers, stalls, eateries, and restaurants serving momos throughout the area, it’s safe to assume that momos are Viman Nagar’s favorite snack. The humble oriental dumplings have become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon, establishing themselves as a mainstay of Indian street food culture, alongside vada pav and pani puri. The popularity of the snack has ensured its presence on the menu of a vast majority of food and dining establishments in Viman Nagar. In this part of town, one can even find momos in the most unexpected of places, such as Pind Punjab and KaatiZone. Street vendors are the biggest players in the momo game, however, with many places being sold out by the evening. Manoj Kumar, the proprietor of Himalaya Momos, one of the most iconic momo vendors in the area, says that his stall sells at least 100 plates of momos on an average day. It’s no wonder that places with large student populations, such as Viman Nagar, enjoy momos so much; be it from small street-side vendors such as Himalaya Momos and Hira’s, small restaurants like Seven sisters and Mad Momos, or high-class restaurants like Kimchee and The Mandarin Oak. Whether you’re a broke student looking for a street food dinner or someone treating yourself at a fine-dining restaurant, the humble momo has got you covered.
Momos have their origins in Tibet and Nepal. The traditional momo is a steamed dumpling with a red-meat filling. Since making their way over to India, new filling variants such as vegetable, paneer, chicken, fish, and cheese have become popular. They are also prepared in various ways - fried momos, tandoori momos, Afghani momos, and momos tossed in a sauce/gravy. With such a massive variety of momos available to the market at every possible price point, there’s something for everyone.
25 Feb 2022
Rishab Sengupta
