This article is by a new writer and momo lover in the town. So, sit back and "Let's talk about Momos". 

Momo is a type of South Asian dumpling; native to Tibet, Nepal. It is a type of steamed dumpling with some form of filling. There are typically two types of momos steamed and fried but recently tandoori momos have also become very popular.

They have become very popular in the streets of Delhi. Nowadays they have become so popular that you can find momos in every nook and corner from big five stars to small street vendors. Mainly steamed and fried momos are famous but tandoori momos have also started to feature in restaurants.

We Delhites love momos. It is their favorite street food. Talking about momos in Delhi makes it mandatory to take Dolma Aunty’s name.  A woman named Dolma Tsering started selling momos in the central market of Lajpat Nagar II in the year 1994. She was determined to change the scenes of street food in Delhi. At that time momos were almost dismissed by Delhi folks, who thought it as raw. Fried snacks were regarded as properly cooked and initially, no one tried the so-called raw food.

Dolma Tsering now more popularly and fondly called Dolma Aunty owns a shop in Lajpat Nagar II. In 1994 when she started her  ‘Thella’ dumplings were only sold in Chinese or big South Asian restaurants. Reaching it is very easy as it is a very famous stall and everyone knows about it. It is 7 to 8 minutes walk from Lajpat Nagar metro station. Also, there is always a large pool of people near the shop. Aroma of the dumplings can be felt from a long distance.

Dolma Aunty no longer visits the shop and sells momos herself but now her son Ramu takes care of the shop. It was a very big challenge for her to introduce an entirely new concept of steamed food in the streets of a city like Delhi.

Initially, she faced many difficulties. She is originally from Tibet. It was very famous from where she came from. In Tibet buckets full of momos are made and served on occasions. She came to Delhi 1990 and started to survive by doing odd jobs initially but did not succeed. Then she thought of doing something she was good in and established first momo stall in 1994 in Lajpat Nagar market popularly known as the Central Market. There was no culture of momos in Delhi before that and they were served only in big restaurants, and in stalls or thellas.

Also being steamed food made of maida people were skeptical and doubted if it was even edible. She had a very tough time in starting but soon people started visiting the stall. She started with a small steamer which she had bought from her house. Delicious taste and home-like feeling of hotly served momos made them extremely popular. Since then she has never looked back.

Another big challenge for her was that when she started not many women were there who were selling food on streets of Delhi. A woman running a Thella at that time in a city like Delhi was a very weird idea for people to accept.

And the biggest challenge was her language. It was an extremely big hindrance. She barely knew any Hindi. Introducing an entirely new dish with an entirely new concept of steamed food it was very difficult for her to explain people and gain customers. But she and her sister were determined and did not give up. Their continuous efforts made it possible for them to run their shop and make it so popular.

At that time she used to sell 6 momos in a plate for Rs. 15. Now she sells three varieties of steamed momos i.e. Veg, Paneer and Chicken momos. Along with this she also sells Chinese platter both veg and non-veg. One plate of momos consists 8 pieces now. Cost of 1 plate chicken momos is Rs.60, 1 plate paneer momos are Rs.50 and 1 plate veg momos is Rs.40, which is quite reasonable and affordable for such a delicious taste.

All the momos are made by hand, machines are there but they use their hands only to give a homely feel to customers.  Dolma Aunty kneads her own dough and stuff the filling herself with the help of her family members. The star of the stall is the lip-smacking spicy red chili garlic chutney.  The momos are bigger in size than usual momos and do not have just cabbage filling which makes it different from other momos selling stalls. The dough is very thin.

The shop is open from 12 noon to 9 pm every day and is crowded with a huge bunch of people every hour. Even after such a huge crowd, their service is very fast, and hot momos are served to you immediately with the red chili garlic chutney. There is no seating arrangement but Dolma Aunty’s fans still love her and visit the place often.

It is mandatory for all the momos fans to visit the place whenever they go Delhi especially Lajpat Nagar market. Her address is Shop 39-B, Central Market Lajpat Nagar II, New Delhi. This will make it easier for you to find and visit the place.

Thank you all for reading

Written By:- The girl who love momos