3 Best Tandoori Masala Recipes

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If you are a desi, you must be familiar with tandoori chicken, a very common dish in most desi households.

However, you may not be aware that the same common tandoori masala can be incorporated into many other recipes other than the plain ol’ tandoori chicken.

Yes, that is the beauty of Pakistani spices, you can create a whole new recipe using the traditional old spices and by amalgamating different recipes together.

After getting married, the true kitchen shenanigans began, and I loved how tandoori masala could elevate any dish. Whether it is chicken, pizza, egg for breakfast, or handi.

Don’t judge me until you have had leftover tandoori chicken in your omelette. Until then, some recipes besides eggs to try.

How to Make Your Own Tandoori Masala

I know there are tons of brands with their version of Tandoori Masala, but mine is the best!

Don’t believe me, try this. I usually double the quantities because I add Tandoori masala in recipes you would have never imagined.

Here is how you can make amazing tandoori masala at home:

Ingredients

Cinnamon Sticks (darchini) 3 – 4
Cloves (laung) 6 - 7
Green Cardamom (hari elachi) 10 – 12
Black Cardamom (badi elachi) – 2
Coriander Seeds (sabut dhaniya) 2.5 tbsp
Cumin Seeds (zeera) 1.5 tbsp
Mace (javatri) 1 piece
Star Anise (badiyan) 1 piece
Dried Ginger (sonth) 2 pieces
Black Peppercorns (sabut kali mirch) 12 pieces
Turmeric Powder (haldi) 1 tsp
Salt 1.5 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder 1 tbsp
Kashmiri Red Chilli - 1 tbsp
Citric Acid (tatri) – 1 tsp
Yellow food colour (zarda ka rang) half tsp

Method:

In a pan take green cardamom, black cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds and dry roast for roughly thirty seconds.
After all the spices have cooled, transfer them to a spice mixer. Add star anise, mace, dried ginger, and peppercorns too.
Make a fine powder of these spices.
Add the remaining powder spices in the newly blended all-spice powder. Give it a good mix.
If there are coarse pieces, strain the concoction and transfer into an airtight jar.
The net weight of this tandoori masala is roughly 90 grams and can be stored for up to six months.

Tandoori Chicken Biryani

Biryani was and will always be my first love. Nothing can compare to a plate of hot biryani served with raita and salad.

Although it took me a while to perfect my biryani, ( I can still not compete with my mom's biryani) I can now say that I can cook biryani pretty well.

Amid those experiments, one day, exasperated, I decided to use tandoori masala. I can safely say this tandoori chicken biryani is one of the best biryanis that I have ever tried.

The fragrant combination of tandoori chicken and aromatic rice will never fail to Woo your guests.

The recipe may seem lengthy, but believe me, it's quite a simple recipe and you can prepare most of it a day or two earlier.

How to Cook Chicken Biryani With Tandoori Masala

For Chicken Marination

Bone in chicken - 8 pcs
Shan tandoori chicken masala - 3 tbsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp
Salt - as per taste ( the tandoori masala is already salty )
Turmeric - ½ tsp
Red food colour - a pinch

For Qorma

Onion - 3 medium-sized
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Shan Tandoori masala - 1 tbsp
Salt - as per taste
Shan Bombay biryani masala - 2 tbsp
Yoghurt - 4 tbsp
Tomatoes - 3 medium-sized
Potatoes - 2 medium-sized (my biryani is incomplete without potatoes)
Oil - ¼ cup
Kashmiri red chilli - 1 tsp
Prunes (dried plum) - 5-6

For Rice

Sela rice - ½ kg (should be soaked at least 2 hours before boiling)
Cardamom - 3-4 whole
Salt - 4 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 5-7

For Garnishing

oil/ghee
Mint leaves
Cilantro (Coriander) leaves
Fried onions

Directions

Initially mix all the marination ingredients in a big bowl and then add chicken to it. Marinate the chicken overnight for best results, otherwise 4-5 hours will do.
Now, to prepare the qorma or gravy, fry finely shredded onion in oil/ghee in a pot until it turns golden brown. Make sure not to over-brown the onions, or you can even use store-bought red onions.
Spread out the fried onions on a kitchen towel to make them crispy.
Now in the remaining oil in the pot, add ginger garlic paste, and all the spices and mix well. Add finely chopped tomatoes and let it cook for a while until the tomatoes are tender.
Add potatoes and prunes to the gravy, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes.
In a blender, blend the yoghurt and ⅔ of the fried onions to form a paste. Add this paste to the gravy and cook on high flame until the oil starts to separate.
Add some water and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes until the potato cubes are tender. Set it aside.
Meanwhile, after your chicken is marinated, you can either broil it or cook it on the stovetop. I prefer the stovetop method.
Take a pot, add 2 tbsp oil, and add the marinated chicken. The flame should be medium-high. Let the chicken cook in its steam for 20-25 mins. The chicken will leave some water, add some more water if you feel the chicken is not cooked all the way through.
Separately, in a huge pot, add around 6 cups of water, salt, and whole spices, and bring it to a boil.
When the water starts boiling add the rinsed rice and let it cook uncovered for 8-10 mins or until rice is cooked and firm. Then strain the rice in a sieve.

Layering

This biryani has four layers, layer ½ the quantity of rice on the bottom of the pot followed by the gravy.

Then layer the tandoori chicken on top of the gravy and sprinkle with mint and coriander leaves.

Then place the remaining amount of boiled rice as the fourth layer, sprinkle some orange food colour, coriander, mint leaves, and fried onion. Heat oil/ghee in a pan, let it splutter, and pour it over the biryani.

The Final Step (Dum)

Seal the pot with a tight lid and cook on medium-high flame for 3 minutes, then turn the heat on low and let it cook for another 10-15 mins.

You will know the biryani is ready when you open the lid and a warm aroma of steam welcomes you. Serve with salad and raita

Delicious tandoori chicken biryani is ready!!

Tandoori Chicken Tacos

The best thing about living abroad is, you are introduced to a variety of new flavours and dishes.

Tacos are one such dish that I simply love. But we desi’s can not just stick to the original recipe, we have to add our desi tarka in everything that we create.

And most of the time, it turns out better than the actual product.

I first ate these tandoori chicken tacos at a friend's potluck. And believe me, I was just blown away by this Pakistani Mexican fusion combination.

Ever since then, it has become my go-to dish when I can't think of anything to make. It is super easy and convenient to make.

Ingredients

Chicken boneless thighs - ½ kg
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Smoked paprika - 1 tsp
Shan tandoori chicken masala - 2 tbsp
Kashmiri chilli - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 3 tbsp
Salt - as per taste (the tandoori masala is salty)

Directions

Cut the chicken into large cubes, then marinate it with all the ingredients for a minimum of 30 minutes. For best results, marinate it for more than 2 hours.

Preheat the broiler, and spread the chicken pieces on a lined baking sheet, brushing both sides with oil. Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on both sides until it is well cooked.

Allow the chicken to cool on a wire rack after it is cooked.

Toppings For Tacos

Chopped Avocados
Thinly sliced cucumbers
Red onions finely shredded
Avocado sliced
Green and yellow bell pepper julienne cut
Cilantro
Cheddar cheese

Sauce

Hot sauce of choice
sweet sauce
Green chutney
Salsa sauce

Assembling

Warm the tortillas on a preheated pan, then place the tandoori chicken chunks in the centre, followed by the vegetable toppings, add cheese if you prefer, and drizzle with the sauces.

Fold it in half and enjoy the delicious tandoori chicken tacos.

Tandoori Aloo Matar

As a kid, I would run away from vegetables until one day my mom made this amazing dish and insisted I taste it.

And believe me, just having a single bite changed my mind, I could not believe that the boring aloo matar could taste so divine.

My mom had just added a single different ingredient that elevated the taste of aloo matar by several notches – tandoori masala. The tandoori masala gives a reddish colour to the dish that even makes it look more appealing.

And since that day, whether I eat other vegetables or not, tandoori aloo matar has become my comfort food.

Ingredients

Peas - 1 cup
Potatoes - 1 cup (cut into cubes)
Tomatoes - 2 (blended)
Tandoori masala - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - ½ tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Salt - as per taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Oil - ¼ cup
Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds - ½ tsp
Curry leaves - 8-9

Directions

Boil the peas in some water for 3-4 minutes (we do not want them to be completely cooked) rinse the peas and keep aside.
In a pan, add some oil and fry the potato cubes until they turn slightly golden and crispy. Remove the potatoes from the oil and keep aside.
Now in the same pan, add curry leaves, mustard seeds, and fenugreek seeds.
Let them splutter in the oil, then add ginger garlic paste, tandoori masala, and the rest of the spices. The spices may start to burn in the hot oil, therefore add some water to the pan.
Now add the blended tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes until a thick gravy is formed.
Add the boiled peas and fried potatoes into the gravy and mix well. Let it simmer on low flame till the peas and potatoes are completely tender.
Sprinkle some coriander leaves and serve with chapati or naan.