Easy Homemade Tandoori Paste Recipe for Curry (2024)

A popular Indian paste which is also called tikka or tikka masala. It is traditionally used to marinade chicken, but is also a good marinade for tofu, vegetable or halloumi.

Tandoori paste, which is also called tikka or tikka masala is easy to make at home.

Just like what you find in Indian restaurants, but the advantage of making this tandoori masala at home is you know exactly what is in it and you can tweak it to make a hotter curry paste if you like.

It also has none of the additives or preservatives in shop-bought curry paste.

So put the Patak's Tandoori Marinade Paste (or Patak's Tandoori Paste) back on the shelf and make your own.

It really is a quick curry paste you can make at home.

Homemade Marinade

It is mostly commonly used in a chicken dish (chicken tikka masala), but of course it's the perfect marinade for veggie dishes too.

Vegetarians could coat halloumi in it before crisping it on the BBQ and vegans can use it to marinade tofu before grilling it.

You could also use it to marinade onions wedges or vegetables and cook them on a grill or on the BBQ.

What is a Tandoor?

The word tandoori comes from the word tandoor (or tandoor oven) which is the oven a tandoori is cooked in.

The tandoor is a clay oven (nowadays these can be metal) that is traditionally used in Pakistan and India to cook and bake.

It's an outdoor oven and it's still popular today. It takes very little fuel to heat and stays hot for a long time, so it's very economical.

Cooking in a tandoor

Wood or charcoal is burned in the bottom of these pots and when the optimum temperature is reached (and the flames are out), the food is cooked in the pot above the searing heat.

These outdoor ovens are kept burning for long periods and can reach a temperature of 480c (900f).

Flatbreads are thrown onto the pot walls inside the ovens where the heat helps them to stick to the side. They are peeled of when they are cooked through.

Skewers (kebabs) are propped up and cooked inside the oven or across the mouth of the oven.

Tandoori Paste

The main spices in this dish are always the same, but some ingredients will change slightly from recipe to recipe.

Most recipes include garam masala, but I use the individual flavours in the garam masala. Chilli is also added, but I keep my masala on the milder side as I have a child who doesn't like things too hot.

When you make it you can add more chilli to suit your taste.

Making tandoori paste

The spices are mixed with oils and yogurt to make this creamy marinade.

You can use plain yogurt or dairy-free plain yogurt.

I used soy sauce for the salty flavour in my marinade as I use it for marinading tofu, and salt can pull the moisture out of the tofu, but you can use salt, if you are marinating something other than tofu.

Which oil to use?

I also use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, as a healthier alternative, but again you can choose the oil you add to your marinade.

Just make sure you choose a mild oil, this is not the time to use olive oil, which would overwhelm other flavours and burns too quickly.

Spices in tandoori paste

The aromatic spices in homemade tandoori curry paste vary from recipe to recipe, but they all have a few key spices in common.

For this easy recipe for tandoori spice paste, you need these spices:

Red Tikka Paste

If you prefer the red tikka masala sauce instead of this creamier tandoori paste, add an extra teaspoon of paprika and chilli powder and add a little extra oil to make a paste.

Just skip the yoghurt.

Some people prefer tikka marinade without the yoghurt and itwill give you that iconic red tikka masala sauce.

You can also add a squeeze of lemon juice which makes the tikka masala sing.

This way of making tandoori or tikka sauce will last longer in the fridge and can be frozen too

It's up to you which way you prefer it, with or without the yoghurt.

Give it time to rest

As with any good soup, stew or curry, a curry paste will improve if it has time to sit.

This gives the flavours a chance to really develop.

So, if you can try to make it the day before.

Of course, it will still be tasty on the day you make it but it will have an even richer flavour the next day.

Storing homemade tandoori paste

The paste can be kept in the fridge in an airtight container for 4-5 days.

You can also freeze it.

Either portion it into ice cube trays, freeze, then pop the cubes of paste into a freezer bag (labelled zip lock bags) or just freeze in a freezer-friendly airtight container or freezer bag.

To defrost, take out of the fridge the night before you need it and leave it in the fridge to defrost.

It can be frozen for 3-4 months.

For a longer shelf life

If you want to have some tandoori sauce ready to go, but to longer, you make the mixture and store it in the fridge minus the yoghurt.

Just add the yoghurt before using.

This spice mix (without the yoghurt and sweetener) will last in the fridge for a week or two.

Alternatively, make up a dry spice mixture with ground turmeric, ground coriander, ground cumin, chilli powder, ground ginger (instead of fresh), garlic powder (instead of fresh garlic), paprika, sugar (instead of honey or agave nectar) and salt (instead of the soy sauce).

Give this spice blend a good mix and store this dry mix in a jar or airtight container.

Then, when you want to make the paste, just add the tomato puree, oil, yoghurt and water , then mix until you have a smooth paste.

You can store this spice mix for months in a dry, dark cupboard.

Ideas for using tandoori paste

Here are a few more ideas for using tandoori paste, apart from the most obvious.

Skip the Indian restaurant and have a curry night at home