Riaz’ Mom’s Tandoori Paste
When I lived in Cambridge in the 70’s, one of my housemates was Pakistani. He taught me a lot about Northern Indian home cooking. His mother stayed with us for a month and I spent every evening hanging over the stove while she cooked Riaz his childhood favorites. This is one of her recipes.
Traditionally, tandoori pastes are colored with red food coloring. You can save the water in which you’ve cooked beets and use a tablespoon or two of the water as a natural food coloring or you can leave the coloring out.
1 cup full fat or lowfat yoghurt
1 medium onion
1 piece of ginger about 1 inch long
4 cloves garlic
3 Serrano peppers (seeds removed for a milder paste)
1 TBS cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 TBS turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp red food coloring or up to 2 TBS beet cooking water (optional)
Chop the onion and garlic. Peel the ginger, slice it into coins, and chop it. Slice the serranos, and mince. Add all of these to the blender. Add the spices and half the yoghurt. Blend until the mixture is a smooth paste. Add the rest of the yoghurt and the food coloring, if you use it, and give the paste a quick mix.
Place two chickens cut in pieces into a large zip-lock bag. Pour in the paste and mix well, being careful not to puncture the baggie. Marinate the chickens overnight. Grill over medium flame.