Tandoori-Style Marinade
TIME/SERVINGS
Total: Under 5 mins
Active: Under 5 mins
Makes: About 1 cup
By Regan Burns
The acidity in yogurt acts as a tenderizer, making it a perfect ingredient in marinades for grilled foods. For chicken or lamb, season with salt and pepper, coat evenly in the marinade, and place in a nonreactive container. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. For fish, do not marinate more than 30 minutes.
What to buy: Use plain, natural, organic whole-milk yogurt like Stonyfield Farm. It’s tangier and less thick than other brands.
- 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
- 4 teaspoons curry powder
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped cilantro
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- Pinch cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
COMMENTS | ADD YOUR OWN
A tandoori masala (spice mix) is more authentic than curry powder. If that is not available, garam masala is a nice substitute. Otherwise, good basic recipe, with great results.
I've used a similar recipe and it works fairly well. I would add a little bit of turmeric, primarily for color. The chicken once it is baked is a good starting point for making Chicken Tikka Masala.
There is a great Basic Indian Cooking course at Beverly Hills Adult night school starting next week if your are interested in Indian cooking.
doctorJerry.
When masalas are not available, Hot Madras Curry Powder works very well. It's available in most well-stocked markets.
oh. my. good. lord.
tandoori anything is supposed to come out RED, not yellow.
The red colour of tandoori marinade is traditionally achieved by adding crushed Kashmiri red chillies and less traditonally by adding food colouring (ugh!).
How do you use it? Can you marinate chicken with it?
Ana Paulina: Regan gives some marinating suggestions in the headnote. Let us know how it turns out.
A tandoori masala is better, especially when lightly-toasted in a dry skillet beforehand. I also add some grated onion for body, which clings to the exterior. A few smashed curry leaves and toasted brown mustard seeds never hurt either.