Tandoori Masala

Nothing beats homemade Masala's. All a masala is, is a mixture of spices that can be either dry, or in paste form. Tradionally, Tandoori Masala is used for anything that is cooked in a Tandoor or Clay Oven. I prefer to make my own masalas at home so that I can ensure that each spice is sustainly sourced. This recipe is also dye/red food color free. I dont prefer to put artificial food color in my food. If you buy good spices, the spices themselves will color your food beautifully. This masala can be used as a dry rub, or mixed in with yogurt to be used as a marinade for meats, fish, or in my case, veggies and Paneer.

One thing to remember when making your own masala, is that they are all custom made to your taste. If there is an ingredient in this recipe that you dont prefer, simply remove it from your masala. This recipe has been custom tailored to mine and my boyfriends preference.

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Ingredients

• 1/4 cups of Whole Coriander Seeds

• 1-2 Tbs of Cumin Seeds

• 2-3 Tsp of Whole Black Peppercorns

• 10-12 Green Cardamom Pods

• 3-4 Black Cardamom Pods

• 2-3 Pieces of Cinnamon

• 1-2 Tsp of Cloves

• 1-2 Pieces of Mace (Javitri)

• 1-2 Tsp of Grated Nutmeg

• 15-16 Dried Kashmiri Red Chillies

• 2-3 Tsp of Fenugreek Leaves (Kasuri Methi)

• 5-6 Pieces of Dried Ginger

• 5-6 Star Anis

• 3 Tsp of Fennel Seeds

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Method

Start off by heating a large pan on medium heat. If you have a cast iron pan, I highly recommend using that. Begin by dry roasting your coriander seeds, cumin, black peppercorn, green & black cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, fenugreek leaves, and fennel seeds. This should take about 5-6 minutes. You want the spices to be fragrant but not burnt. Be sure to keep the spices moving with a wooden spoon to avoid burning them. After these spices have finished dry roasting, transfer them into a bowl. Now dry roast your mace, kashmiri red chillies, dried ginger, cinnamon, and star anis. We want to dry roast these separately because they are slightly bigger in size and will require a bit more time. Once these spices are done dry roasting, transfer them into your blender or grinder. Grind the big spices first, unitl they are roughly the size of your smaller spices. Then add your small spices into the blender, and blend everything until its a course powder. The last step is to transfer your Tandoori Masala into an air tight container and store in a cool place until you are ready to use. You can also keep this blend in the freezer if you aren't planning on using it straight away.