Zero is not India’s greatest contribution to mankind, it’s the Manchurian. What, with all the jeera, dhaniya, and even garam masala it seems right from the heart of the Guangdong province, doesn’t it?

The Nepali kancha cooking chowmein in that pseudo-wok (essentially a kadhai) isn’t all that bad, I’ve realized. I’ve had the ‘real’ Chinese – and no, House of Ming isn’t the absolute Chinese-Chinese — and I’ve had the Indian-Chinese. I’m a sucker for both, but it’s the Indie-Chinese that leaves you with that strong aftertaste of dark soy, chilli and garlic — reminiscent of the yum that was.

As far as writing about food is concerned, I’ve always believed that it should be fairly concise. I say a good food article should go: “best paneer: x; best chicken: y; best daal: z”. So, cutting short the eloquent banter, lets get down to business…er…drooling. (If you really want to read, here’s something on the history of Indie-Chinese cuisine)

Momos are popular in Lhasa and they are popular in Delhi. Us Dilli-wallahs love our momos. Apart from the maida covering and the filling, a momo’s character is essentially defined by the sauce that accompanies; a good momo should score on all these counts.

For some of the best momos in town, head to the Pocket B market in Jal-Vayu Vihar, NOIDA. This was the first momo joint I know of that actually ran out of vegetarian momos! The serving size is perfect for a meal and the lime coriander soup and magical-red momo sauce are stock accompaniments. The sauce is fiery hot and the clear soup with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro compliments the sauce and the momos — it’s wholesomely filling yet light, and douses the fire from the sauce. Oh, and it’s all so addictive! Coming round to the momos – they have a thin maida covering which makes them rather light and refreshing; the filling is liberal and uniformly distributed, ensuring that there is no bite of just that maida.

If you can’t make it to NOIDA anytime soon, worry you not, EOiD comes to the rescue. Other good momo joints include Momo Point in Kamla Nagar (in the lane behind the main market on Bungalow Road that has Barista, Nike et cetera). The momos at Momo Point are different in that they have a cooked filling, thus making the momo in itself tasty even without the sauce — talk about self-sufficient momos! Then there is this guy who stands behind the Benetton showroom (in the Lacoste lane) in South Extension. His USP is that the sauce – though artificially orangey – is actually tasty and not just irritatingly hot. Besides, brother comrades also report that Majnu ka Tila steams good momos: check them out here.

Enough talking about momo history and momos being characterful and self-sufficient — I think it’s about time we stop writing and head out to doing what we’re best at — let’s get that momo!