Momo is the new dumpling in town in Thiruvananthapuram

Sweet, sour and spicy, one is spoilt for choice when it comes to momos in the Kerala capital

Move over steamed momos. How about chocolate momos or pizza momos? Or burger momos and momo wraps? Maybe, your choice is momos in gravy? It is raining momos in Thiruvananathapuram.

The humble steamed dumpling is trending big time in the city, that too in interesting flavours. Over the last two years, momos have been added to the menu of eateries, big and small. In addition there are places such as Klassic Momo, Big Belly Momos and Wow! Momo that are dedicated to momos.

“Restaurants did have momos as one of the dishes on their menu. We wanted to start a venture that is all about momos and that’s how Klassic Momo started its operations in 2020,” says the eatery’s owner, Allen Dipu, who has been running his milkshake joint, Kuppi, since 2018. Klassic Momo now has a franchise outlet near Lulu Mall.

Big Belly Momos also arrived in 2020. With a menu that has “over 150 varieties”, they have two dine-in restaurants – at Panavila Junction and Pattoor – and a takeaway counter at Kowdiar. Sharukh Khan who runs the brand with his wife, Neha Sujahudeen says: “We sell at least 10,000 momos daily through our outlets and food delivery platforms. We introduced momos in our restaurant, Mankalam, on a trial basis and it was such a success that eventually, we launched the first outlet with 15 varieties.”

Momo fans say it was Burger Band that made momos popular in the city, back in 2016. They sold momos, chow mein and momo burgers in a food truck parked at Shanghumugham beach. “It was a huge success. We went on to open four more outlets and kiosks. Then the pandemic forced us to shut shop but we restarted an outlet at Kuravankonam. Three homemakers — Girija S, Jayalakshmi T and Shobha S — make the momos at our central kitchen at Plamood. We also supply half-cooked momos with vegetarian or chicken fillings to several restaurants and cafes in the city,” says Mahesh Kumar, one of the partners. Steamed, fried, grilled and Schezwan varieties are available with fillings of vegetables, chicken and beef.

Viplavam Food Labs (VFL) is a major player in the ready-to-cook momos market with its brand, Momoji, which has some of the popular restaurants and cafes on its client list. “VFL delivers the food a restaurant wishes to serve in a ready-to-cook format. We started off with momos because there were few places serving it at that time. After extensive trials with the recipes and technique, we launched Momoji,” says Jose Mathews, who started it with his friend, Abey Antony last year.

Momoji sells a pack of 40 momos. They are 80% cooked and has four types of fillings — vegetables, paneer, chicken and mutton. Jose adds that three companies, two of them outside Kerala, are regular suppliers of ready-to-cook momos in the city. “We have been able to get enough clients in spite of the presence of these brands. We plan to get into the retail segment soon,” he says.