Tandoori masala or tandoori sauce is a mixture of spices specifically for use with a

tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoo ...

, or clay oven, in traditional cooking in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

. The specific spices vary somewhat from one region to another but typically include:

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, garlic, ginger,

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cayenne pepper The cayenne pepper is a type of '' Capsicum annuum''. It is usually a moderately hot chili pepper used to flavor dishes. Cayenne peppers are a group of tapering, 10 to 25 cm long, generally skinny, mostly red-colored peppers, often with ...

, and sometimes other spices and additives. The spices are often ground together with a pestle and mortar.

Origin

Kundan Lal Gujral revolutionized tandoori cooking, and the creation of the tandoori masala spice blend is attributed to him. Like many spices, there is also the influence of a colonial legacy present within the rise of tandoori masala as Kundan Lal was a Hindu Punjabi-Pathan living in West Pakistan who ended up moving to Delhi, India in a time where communal violence rose after the Partition of India in 1947. While working in a restaurant in Peshawar in the 1920s, Kundan Lal experimented with the tandoor that was traditionally used for baking naan. In a stroke of genius, he was the first to cook chicken in the tandoor, and the spice blend he made and used for cooking the chicken in this manner became known as tandoori masala. In Delhi, Kundan Lal opened a restaurant called Moti Mahal, which is where dishes he created using tandoori masala reached national fame with politicians such as Jawaharlal Nehru favoring the taste and global fame as the restaurant became a global chain. Indian restaurants around the world pay homage to tandoori masala in their menus as tandoori chicken and butter chicken are highly popular staple features.

Usage and Storage

Tandoori masala is used extensively with dishes such as

tandoori chicken Tandoori chicken is a South Asian dish of chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in a '' tandoor'', a cylindrical clay oven. The dish is now popular world-wide. The modern form of the dish was popularized by the Moti Mahal restau ...

. In this dish, the chicken is covered with a mixture of plain

yogurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bac ...

and tandoori masala. The chicken is then roasted in the

on high heat; when prepared in this fashion the chicken has a pink-colored exterior and a savory flavor. Other chicken dishes, in addition to tandoori chicken, use this masala, such as ''tikka'' or

butter chicken Butter chicken, traditionally known as murgh makhani (), is an Indian dish originating in New Delhi. It is a type of curry made from chicken with a spiced tomato and butter (''makhan'') sauce. Its sauce is known for its rich texture. It is si ...

, most of them Punjabi dishes. Meat other than chicken can be used, as can

paneer Paneer (), also known as ponir () is a fresh acid-set cheese common in the Indian subcontinent (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It is a non-aged, non-melting sof ...

(''

paneer tikka Paneer tikka is an Indian dish made from chunks of paneer marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor. It is a vegetarian alternative to chicken tikka and other meat dishes. It is a popular dish that is widely available in India and countries wit ...

''). If freshly prepared, the masala can be stored in airtight jars for up to two months. The spice blend is also readily available at larger supermarkets and specialty Asian stores, with varying tastes depending on the brand.

References

External links

* Authentic Indian Tandoor Chicken
About.com - Indian Food: Tandoori Masala
North Indian cuisine Pakistani cuisine Indo-Caribbean cuisine Indian spices Masalas {{India-cuisine-stub