Date: Thu, 21 Oct 93 10:47:07 CDT
From: cgibas@wraightc3.life.uiuc.edu (Cynthia J. Gibas)
I make tandoori stuff (used to be chicken, but since then I've tried eggplant)
at home...the paste is very easy to make.
TANDOORI PASTE
In a blender:
2 c. nonfat yogurt (active cultures are good)
several cloves garlic
several pieces chopped fresh ginger
a few chopped hot green chilies (seeds or not is up to you)
turmeric
cayenne pepper or paprika
garam masala
I've been unspecific with the measures, because the balance of spices in this
is kind of up to the cook...there are probably other ingredients besides these
in the commercial tandoori paste, but these are the essentials as I remember
them.
Anyway, to prepare the food, marinate whatever you'll be cooking in a mixture
of lemon juice and salt for about 1/2 hr. Then add the lemon juice/salt to
the stuff in the blender and whirl it up. When you lean over to sniff it
should bite back, hard. Pour the tandoori paste over the food, let it sit
for up to two hours. Then (for eggplant slices, for example) toss on the
grill still lightly coated with the tandoori mixture (messy) OR for something
big like a head of cauliflower, wrap in tinfoil, slathering a lot of the paste
over the top before closing it up. Bake until it's almost done, and then
open the tinfoil to let it dry out a bit while it finishes baking.
If you want really bright red, mix some red and yellow food coloring and
paint it onto the food during the lemon and salt phase.
kwlacto lacto