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Tandoori Marinade Recipe

Tandoori Marinade

A deeply spiced yoghurt marinade using gram flour to bind it to meat, fish or vegetables. Developed for our clay tandoor oven but works equally well on a BBQ, griddle or in the oven
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Marinade Time 4 hours
Total Time 25 minutes
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 450 g Natural yogurt
  • 2 tbsp Gram flour
  • 2 Garlic cloves
  • 1 Thumb size piece of ginger
  • 1 Lemon juiced
  • 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 1 Birds eye chilli crushed
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds ground
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp salt

Method
 

  1. Place the gram flour in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns a shade darker and smells nutty. Remove from heat and allow to cool. This step removes the raw flour taste and deepens the flavour.
  2. Combine the toasted gram flour, yoghurt, crushed garlic, grated ginger, lemon juice and oil in a large bowl. Mix until smooth.
  3. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, ground bird's eye chilli, turmeric, cumin, ground coriander and salt. Mix thoroughly until fully combined and the marinade is a consistent deep orange-red colour.
  4. Taste and adjust seasoning — add more salt, lemon juice or chilli to your preference.
  5. Add your prepared ingredients (chicken pieces, lamb, paneer or vegetables) and coat thoroughly. Make sure every surface is covered.
  6. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours — overnight gives significantly better results. For bone-in chicken pieces and lamb, 24-48 hours produces the most flavourful result.
  7. When ready to cook, remove from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking to allow the meat to come to room temperature.

Notes

  • Kashmiri chilli powder gives a vibrant red colour without excessive heat — it's available from most Asian supermarkets and online. If unavailable, use standard red chilli powder but the colour will be less vivid
  • Don't skip the gram flour — it binds the marinade to the food and prevents it sliding off during cooking
  • For a deeper red colour add a teaspoon of tomato purée or a pinch of red food colouring — this is how restaurants achieve the intensely red colour
  • If cooking in a regular oven, cook at the highest setting (240°C) for best results — the marinade needs high heat to char correctly