What is squash momo, the dish making Delhi queue up outside a CR Park eatery?

A squash-filled momo at Limbu Kitchen in CR Park is drawing long queues in Delhi. But what exactly is squash momo?A squash momo is a dumpling stuffed with squash, a vegetable that has long been part of home-style cooking across Himalayan communities. (Photo: Unsplash)Limbu Kitchen, located in Delhi’s Chittaranjan Park, has been witnessing an influx of patrons of late. The reason? One dish – squash momo.Delhites’ love for momo is beyond quantification, and the innumerable eateries serving the Tibetan/Nepalese dumplings are proof. But now, this humble eatery in South Delhi is seeing foodies line up for hours just to get their hands on one particular momo, made with squash, also known as iskus or ishkush, a Himalayan vegetable.Yes, there is a long wait before you can actually get your hands on the dish, among the many other Nepalese and Tibetan dishes being served there. So, what’s the hype around this ‘unusual’ momo? And what exactly is a squash momo? To understand people’s obsession with the new place and this dish, we dug deeper.What exactly is a squash momo?A squash momo is a dumpling stuffed with squash, a vegetable that has long been part of home-style cooking across Himalayan communities. In Nepali and Darjeeling-Kalimpong kitchens, ‘iskus momo’ is a regional speciality. The squash is grated, salted and squeezed to remove excess water — an important step, given how juicy the vegetable is. It is then mixed with onion, ginger and cilantro, with hot oil added to bind and flavour the filling before it is wrapped in dough and steamed.At Limbu Kitchen, squash is the star of the filling, giving the momo a mild, slightly sweet flavour and a juicy texture that is quite different from the more familiar cabbage, paneer, chicken or pork versions.What is squash or ishkush? If you have never heard of ishkush before, you may have encountered the vegetable under a different name. Known as chayote in English, squash is a pale-green, wrinkled vegetable that grows on a vine and belongs to the gourd family. It is widely used in parts of South Asia and Latin America, while in Himalayan kitchens.It is versatile enough to be used in curries, stir-fries, pickles and, of course, momos.Why is suddenly popular in Delhi?By now, it’s clear that squash momo isn’t new. So, why the sudden obsession? Its popularity has as much to do with timing as with taste. Delhi's momo culture has always been meat-and-paneer coded, so a squash-filled version reads as a genuine novelty rather than just another momo flavour.People are liking it or not is a different conversation altogether, but what we know is they are travelling from far and near and waiting hours to get their hands on this novelty item.- EndsPublished By: Tiasa Bhowal Published On: Sep 3, 2026 16:41 IST