It's time to Tandoori everything
Our Tandoori Paste is more than a curry paste. Here's ten (actually more) things you can cook with it!
You’ve purchased our Tandoori Paste, the bottle has arrived at your doorstep, and you’re ready to give it a whirl. Except, what do you cook?
There’s a few lines on the bottle label, but what could you try first? This handy guide has plenty of options!
1. Don’t cook it at all, use it as a dip!
Customers we meet in the farmer’s market tell us this is their favourite way to eat our Tandoori Paste. Simply dip in your preferred vegetable stick or cracker and you're ready to go. If you prefer a fancier canape, you can spread it on a cracker and top with feta cheese. Or you can mix in some greek yogurt to create a creamier dip. Or you can make Gujarati style Rai no Potato (mustard potatoes) and have Potato, Tandoori crackers like I did for our Christmas shared lunch.
2. Tandoori, your protein of choice.
Our Tandoori Paste can be used with virtually any protein. The classic dish is ofcourse Tandoori chicken. Begin by marinating chicken pieces in tandoori paste, add some yogurt to the marination if you like. Leave overnight and then barbecue or oven bake the chicken. Chicken thighs or wings are my preferred cut as they retain the juiciness. Prefer red meat, you can make Tandoori lamb chops too!
Skip the yogurt, and you can make Tandoori shrimp, Tandoori fish, Tandoori portobello mushrooms, Tandoori tofu, Tandoori paneer (this one is better in the air fryer), you get my drift.
Serve by itself or as part of a rice/buddha bowl. Or, make Tandoori lettuce cups by filling lettuce leaves with marinated chicken and desired toppings.
3. Tandoori skewers
Doesn’t everything look and taste better when it’s on a skewer? My favourites for a skewer are Tandoori prawns with the tail on, Tandoori vegetables like bell peppers, onions and mushrooms and Tandoori lamb skewers. For the skewers, marinate in just the Tandoori paste, skewer it on, and allow to marinate for 3-4 hours. Barbecue or oven bake and serve with a side salad.
4. Tandoori quesadillas or sandwiches
Spread Tandoori paste on tortillas and fill with your choice of protein and vegetables, then grill until the tortillas are crispy. The same goes for sandwiches and your lunchtime wrap!
5. Tandoori avocado on toast
When my customer told me she spread Tandoori paste on her toast before topping it with avocado, I gave an internal cringe. But I was so curious, I had to give it a taste. And it works, it really does!
5. Tandoori pizza
Spread the tandoori paste on pizza dough and top with your choice of protein, vegetables, and cheese, then bake until the crust is crispy. My favourite toppings are smoked chicken, pulled pork, pepperoni or even thinly sliced onions and capsicum. Want a more Indiany pizza? Use naan as your base!
6. Tandoori Chicken Nachos
Spread Tandoori-marinated chicken over tortilla chips and topping with cheese, beans, and other desired toppings. There’s a lot of spice overlap between Indian and Mexican food so trust me, this will taste great.
7. Tandoori butter or Tandoori Mayo dressing
If you love a good barbecue, then mix Tandoori paste with softened butter to make a spicy compound butter for grilled meats or vegetables. And if you need a delicious salad with that steak, make a salad dressing of mayo plus Tandoori paste.
8. Quick Butter chicken
Mix together yogurt and tandoori paste. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and marinate for an hour. On a skillet, grill the chicken for 6-8 minutes, until cooked through and no longer pink in the center.
In a large saucepan, melt 2-3 tbsp ghee or butter over medium heat. Add a finely chopped onion and cook until brown, about 10 minutes. Add in a can of diced tomatoes, 1-2 tbsp tandoori paste and bring to a simmer. While the tomatoes are cooking soak a cup of cashews in water and grind to a smooth paste.
Stir in the cashew paste and grilled chicken. Lower the heat and add in fresh cream. Garnish with finely chopped coriander, and serve the butter chicken with rice or naan.
9. Tandoori vegetable and chickpea curry
Toss vegetables of your choice (capsicum, eggplants, mushroom, corn, cauliflower) with 1-2 tbsp of Tandoori paste. Grill them until they are cooked. In a saucepan, add some ghee and one finely chopped onion. Cook until the onion is soft (5 mins). Add in 5-6 tbsp of the Tandoori paste, a can of coconut milk and a can of drained chickpeas. Simmer on low heat for 5-6 minutes. Add in the vegetables. Mix and serve with rice or naan.
10. Masala scrambled eggs
Simply stir through a tbsp of Tandoori paste to scrambled eggs for a spicy breakfast. Or, go a step further and make a proper egg bhurji.
11. Yoghurt-filled Tandoori potatoes
Use smaller-sized potatoes and cut them in half lengthways. Using a teaspoon, scrape out a deep depression so that the potatoes look like egg halves; the edges should be around 1 – 1.5cm thick. Add them to a pot of boiling salted water and boil for 8 minutes or until the shells are just soft. (they can also be fried for 4 minutes for a richer dish). Remove and cool.
Add 1/2 - 1 tsp of Tandoori paste into each potato half. Place them on a tray and bake for 25 minutes. Meanwhile mix together plain yoghurt, coriander-cumin powder, salt, pepper, fresh coriander, mint and finely chopped spring onion. Once the potatoes are done, top each half with a tsp of the filling. Serve immediately.
Need more ideas?
We are always exploring what else we can cook with our Tandoori paste. Here’s some more:
Add Tandoori paste to marinara sauce for a spicy twist on pasta
What have you cooked?
If you’ve cooked something else, tell me! We’d love to add it to our master list. Drop me a comment below or send me an email.
Can I buy without being a paid member-if so how?