Recipe Note
What is Tandoori Spice? Tradition and Flavor
Indian food is incredibly sophisticated and trendy despite having deep roots going back for thousands of years. And although Indian food varies widely from region to region, one of the finest ambassadors for the country’s food is beautifully spiced and comes out of a tandoor oven.
Spice Masters’ tandoori spice blend rewards you with the most comforting Indian flavours, with a quick and easy way of cooking Indian-inspired food. There’s no doubt Indian cooks have mastered the art of blending spices, a skill that takes a lifetime to hone. Still, with the right spice blend, you can cook Indian food and tandoor specialities at home. It comes without saying; the results are delicious.
Here’s all you need to know about our tandoori spice blend, its history and its uses. This is perhaps one of our most satisfying spice blends — one that will undoubtedly bring a smile to your face.
The History of Tandoori
Tandoor ovens are ancestral clay or metal cylindrical wood-fired ovens standard in India, the Middle East and Southern Asia. An open flame burns at the bottom of the tandoor, which is used for cooking a wide variety of dishes at high temperatures of up to 480°C.
The term tandoor comes from the Persian word for clay. Of course, these clay ovens, often massive, bless anything cooked in them with the loveliest char and the most attractive smoke flavours. And although anything cooked in these ovens can be called tandoor, like tandoori chicken, the spices used to flavour such meals now also carry the tandoori name.
Tandoori cuisine transcends borders, as the ancestral type of cooking and its respective spices are part of traditional cuisines in Arabic countries, Georgia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Syria, Azerbaijan and many others.
Tandoori spices give food a unique feel that reminds you of traditionally roasted food straight out of a tandoor oven, and that’s incredibly rewarding. Cooking Indian-inspired food is never easy, but the right spices certainly help.
Tandoor is more than a cooking method or a spice blend; tandoori food represents comfort food meant to be shared. Wholesome meals that have fed humanity for millennia. Tandoori spices are edible culture and history, and they can be part of your own story as well. Spice Masters’ Tandoori spice blend opens a world of opportunities in the grill and kitchen.
How to Use Tandoori Spices?
From tandoori chicken to chicken tikka, from curries to kababs, many dishes gain colour, flavour and aroma from tandoori spices, which turn any meal into an authentic celebration. Foodies rejoice because our Tandoori spice blend is a beautiful shortcut to the complicated Indian cuisine and its thousand flavours.
Dry rub chicken, pork or beef with tandoori spices before roasting or grilling and add the spices to curries and sauces for an Indian feel. Tandoori spices are also an excellent addition to any marinade. Food flavoured with tandoori spices is best enjoyed with warm flatbread and sweet chutneys.
Tandoori Spices, Explained
1. Coriander
Coriander is widely used in Southern Europe, Northern Africa and Southwestern Asia. In India, coriander seeds make their way into chutneys, marinades, curries and rice. It is a ubiquitous spice and a must in any Indian-inspired spice blend.
2. Cumin
Pungent and flavourful, cumin seeds are one of the most predominant flavours in Indian cooking, especially in the north. When it comes to cumin, a little goes a long way, especially if added in the last steps of a recipe.
3. Paprika
Smoky and savoury, paprika is dried and ground red bell peppers and can have a subtle sweetness. Paprika is more than a flavour enhancer; it also adds an attractive colour to any preparation.
4. Garlic
Garlic is a superb aromatic bulb and a foundational ingredient for countless meals. Although garlic can be overwhelming on its own when combined with other aromatics, it lends its pungent personality to create harmonious blends.
5. Chilli
Just the right amount of heat can really lift the flavours of any meal, giving it a thrilling mouthfeel. Hot peppers are an American ingredient adopted in India several centuries ago.
6. Mustard
The smallest seed on earth, mustard, is widely used in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh, where people often cook with tandoor ovens. Mustard is flavourful, and the aromas withstand even the highest cooking temperatures.
7. Cinnamon
Known and widely used since ancient times, the bark of the cinnamon tree is part of sweet and savoury recipes worldwide and is essential in Indian cooking. With probable origins in Arabic countries, there’s no doubt cinnamon has always played a role in ancient Greek, Egyptian and Indian cultures.
8. Clove
The dried flower buds from an evergreen shrub, cloves, were first found in Indonesia and were once a valuable commodity. Indian cooking is never heavy on cloves, but they’re often used for curry spices and other spice blends.
9. Onion
Although wild onions are now extinct, many cultivars are common in Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. Used in the kitchen since at least 5000 BC, there’s no doubt onions are a typical ingredient in Indian cooking, especially in chutneys and curries.
10. Celery Salt
Salt is a flavour enhancer, and it brings out the taste in the rest of the ingredients in the spice blend. Celery salt is milder and more fragrant than regular salt, therefore, more compatible with other flavours.
11. Black Pepper
Black pepper was once the most expensive spice on the planet, and it fuelled the age of exploration, particularly the long trips from Europe to India. Black pepper adds zest and flavour depth to Spice Master’s tandoori spice blend.
Indian Food Made Easy
There’s no substitution for food cooked in actual tandoori ovens, but you can indeed emulate those rich, smoky flavours with Spice Masters’ Tandoori Spice Blend.
Inspired by the millenarian use of spices in the Indian Subcontinent, our spice blend will help you take a step into the extraordinary world of curries, grilled Indian food and hearty stews. Cooking Indian food at home has never been so much fun — it’s easy as well!
