Chicken money bags

I love Nepali momos, but unfortunately, the rest of my family doesn't share the same interest. So, I made it once, and it seemed like I was feeding them medicine. However, I came across a Thai (or was it Chinese?) recipe that used dumplings. I wondered if I could use the same momo filling and fry them instead of steaming. Although my husband wasn't so fond of them, my boys found it quite fun, and they even resembled little money bags you see in comics.

Anyway, the recipe is quite simple, regular flour dough is used, the same you would use for making roshi or flatbread. Then the filling is made using chicken, onion, ginger fresh coriander, chillies, some carrot, cabbage soy sauce for seasoning and pepper.

I minced the chicken myself ( very therapeutic too 😉)

It is shaping the money bags that take some time to master but it is not that difficult once you get the hang of it.

place filling in the centre

gather the top 

done!

my little photographer wanted to take a photo of the finished product
📷Amr

Then comes the frying part, it is best to keep the oil hot but not boiling hot as the filling is raw chicken and it is important to get the filling cooked through. So fry these on low heat, once the oil is hot.

Yield: 12 approx Author: Nammi 

Chicken money bags

Ingredients:

Dough

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp oil ( corn or sunflower)
• warm water, enough to make a smooth dough, about  3/4 cups
• pinch of salt
• oil for frying

Filling

• 200g boneless chicken breast fillets
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• a small bunch coriander chopped , about 1 tbsp
• 3 green chillies, chopped
• 1/2 a large carrot, grated
• small piece of cabbage , finely chopped
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• tiny pinch of salt

Instructions:

Dough

1. To make the wrappers, prepare the dough.
2. Sift flour into a large bowl, mix in salt and make a well in the center.
3. Add oil and start adding warm water little at a time until it just starts to come together
4. Knead it and divide into small balls and cover it with a damp cloth to rest till you make the filling.

Filling.

1. Grind ginger, chilli , onion and coriander leaves to a rough paste.
2. Thinly slice the chicken fillets into strips. Then into cubes and then roughly chop it up till it starts to look like minced meat.
3. Place this in a glass bowl or metal bowl. ALWAYS USE THE SAME BOWL FOR RAW MEAT, ALONG WITH THE CHOPPING BOARD AND KNIFE 
4. Into the bowl add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

To shape the money bags and frying

1. To make the money bags, take a small dough ball, and roll it to a thin circle. Try and get it as thin as possible.
2. Place a teaspoon of filling on the middle and gather the ends so it closes up. Press firmly. I did try tying a piece of pandan leaf but it was so fiddly so  I just gave up.
3. Use a little water if you like to make sure it seals well.
4. Can check the photos above to see how it is done.
5. Repeat with the rest of the dough till the fillings if used up.  
6. Leftover dough can always be used to make other pastries so shape them into balls and place in an oiled plastic container and store in the fridge for a day or two but no longer than that. 
7. Heat oil a wok or deep pan, once its hot, lower heat and carefully cook the money bags in batches, say 5-8 minutes. 
8. Drain on kitchen paper and serve with a sweet chilli sauce.

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