Make your own tandoori sauce marinade at home with this easy and flavorful recipe! It’s perfect for marinating paneer, cauliflower, tofu, vegetables or chicken for a delicious Indian meal.
Quick, Easy, and So Much Better Than Store-Bought!
This homemade tandoori marinade is 100 times better than store-bought ones! It takes just 5 minutes to make and is so much cheaper too. Plus it doesn't have any preservatives. Other favourite UK Style Homemade Cooking Sauces are Korma Sauce and Balti Sauce!
All you need to do is mix yogurt with spices, ginger, garlic, and hot oil until you get a smooth paste. It's fresher, tastier, and completely homemade! Once you try this, you'll wonder why you ever bought tandoori paste from the store.
I have made this marinade at least a 100 times. They are so good that I love using this marinade for making tandoori soya chunks( for extra protein), tandoori cauliflower florets, whole roasted cauliflower or paneer tikkas. Sometimes, I’ll toss it with veggies for a quick traybake dinner—it’s super versatile! Vegans can marinate tofu too with dairy free yogurt marinade before air frying / grilling for a tasty option.
Jump to:
- Quick, Easy, and So Much Better Than Store-Bought!
- What Is Tandoori?
- Marinade Ingredients
- Tips to make the best sauce
- How to Make Homemade Tandoori Marinade recipe step by step?
- Storing
- How to Use Tandoori Sauce
- Recipe FAQ's
- More Easy Indian Dipping Sauce Recipes You'll Love
- Tandoori sauce marinade recipe below
- Tandoori sauce recipe
- Tips to make the best sauce
What Is Tandoori?
Tandoori is a popular Indian cooking style where marinated food is traditionally cooked in a clay oven called a tandoor. This oven gives the dish a smoky flavor and a beautiful char. You’ve probably heard of tandoori chicken, but this method is also used for plain naan bread, paneer tikka, kebabs, and more!
Even if you don’t have a tandoor, you can easily recreate those flavors at home using this homemade tandoori paste and cooking it in the oven or air fryer.
Marinade Ingredients
The secret to a delicious tandoori sauce is balancing Indian spices with yogurt and using fresh ingredients. Here's what you'll need (measurements are in the recipe card):
- Yogurt: Greek yogurt works best! Plain yogurt is a bit diluted, so accordingly add the chickpea flour for the right consistency.
- Ginger & Garlic: Fresh works best. Avoid garlic powder and ginger powder —they won’t give the same flavor.
- Chili Powder: I love using Kashmiri chili powder for its vibrant color and mild heat. But you can also use Degi mirch or mild paprika (avoid smoked paprika).
- Indian Spices:Ground cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, garam masala, and chaat masala.
- Kasuri Methi: These dried fenugreek leaves add that authentic restaurant flavor and taste. Find them at Indian grocers or Asda in the UK.
- Oil: I like to use sunflower oil. For restaurant flavors, use mustard oil. Avoid oils like extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil.
- Chickpea Flour (Besan): Optional but great for thickening. If your sauce is too thin, add a tablespoon or two for the perfect texture and flavor too.
- Lemon: Adds a nice zing to the marinade—don’t skip it!
- Optional: You can add chopped fresh coriander and mint leaves too.
Tips to make the best sauce
- Always use fresh ingredients for the best flavor—fresh ginger, garlic, and freshly squeezed lemon juice really make a difference. If you have time, dry roasting cumin and coriander before adding them will bring out even more flavor.
- Don’t skip the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Heat a pan and add kasuri methi for a few seconds. Then remove from heat, crush between the palm and add to the dish.Trust me, it’s what gives the marinade that authentic taste!
- Make sure to let your marinated veggies or protein rest for at least 30 minutes, or even overnight if possible. The longer it sits, the better the flavors soak in, giving you that delicious tandoori taste when you cook.
- I usually skip food coloring in my dishes, but if you’re aiming for that restaurant-style look, feel free to add a pinch of red food coloring. I just use Kashmiri chilli powder to give that red color to the sauce.
- For a vegan version, just swap regular yogurt with a plant-based option like soy yogurt. It works just as well!
- You can actually make tandoori sauce without yogurt if you prefer. Just combine the ingredients together. But keep in mind the flavors will be a bit different from the authentic version.
- Recipe time is the time to prepare the sauce. It does not include time to marinade, this varies depending on how long you leave it to marinade.
How to Make Homemade Tandoori Marinade recipe step by step?
It’s super simple!
Step 1-2: Just mix together yogurt, ginger, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and spices until smooth.
Step 3-4: Then, add hot oil and mix it all together. The hot oil helps release the spices' full flavor, making the marinade even tastier, so definitely don’t skip it.
This homemade marinade will soon replace any store-bought tandoori sauce even Patak's—it's that good!
Storing
Once its cool, keep the prepared sauce in the fridge until you are ready to use. If there are any leftovers, store the prepared tandoori paste in the fridge in the air tight container for 3-4 days.
How to Use Tandoori Sauce
Once you’ve made the marinade, coat your vegetables, paneer, chicken, or tofu in the sauce. Let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes to a few hours to really soak up the flavors. Then, cook it in the air fryer or oven until perfectly tandoori! I make a delicious tandoori paneer tikka using this sauce, and it’s just like the ones you’d get at a restaurant.
This portion of tandoori sauce is perfect for marinating 500g cauliflower, paneer or whole chicken too.
Recipe FAQ's
This recipe makes the perfect amount of tandoori marinade for 500g of cauliflower or paneer. It’s also enough to coat a whole chicken, ensuring a delicious, flavorful result. Adjust quantities as needed based on what you're cooking!
The spiciness can be adjusted. If you prefer milder flavors, reduce the amount of Kashmiri chilli powder.
For best results, marinate for at least 2 hours or overnight to let the flavors penetrate deeply. For a quick marinade, 30 minutes will also work.
Hot oil helps bring out the flavors of the spices and makes the marinade taste even better. It isn’t a must, but it does give the marinade a richer flavor.
If you skip it, the marinade will still work, but using hot oil adds that extra boost to the taste.
Not exactly. Both pastes are made with similar spices and yogurt, but tandoori paste is usually smokier and stronger in flavor.
More Easy Indian Dipping Sauce Recipes You'll Love
Tandoori sauce marinade recipe below
Ingredients
- 1 cup Greek yogurt 240g *
- 1 tablespoon chickpea flour optional *
- 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste *
- 1½ -2 tablespoon Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon chaat masala
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves * kasuri methi
- ½ Lemon Juice
- 4 tablespoon sunflower oil
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients other than oil in a mixing bowl until smooth. Heat oil in a pan until really hot. Then add it to the yogurt marinade. Mix to combine.1 cup Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon chickpea flour, 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste, 1½ -2 tablespoon Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, ½ teaspoon chaat masala, 1 teaspoon garam masala, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves, ½ Lemon Juice, 4 tablespoon sunflower oil
Video
Notes
- If you're using plain yogurt, add 2 tablespoons of chickpea flour.
- To substitute for 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste, use 1-inch ginger root and 6 garlic cloves.
- For a restaurant-style red marinade, add a pinch of red food coloring. However, if you're using Kashmiri chili powder, the added color may not be necessary.
Tips to make the best sauce
- Always use fresh ingredients for the best flavor—fresh ginger, garlic, and freshly squeezed lemon juice really make a difference. If you have time, dry roasting cumin and coriander before adding them will bring out even more flavor.
- Don’t skip the kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves). Heat a pan and add kasuri methi for a few seconds. Then remove from heat, crush between the palm and add to the dish.Trust me, it’s what gives the marinade that authentic taste!
- Make sure to let your marinated veggies or protein rest for at least 30 minutes, or even overnight if possible. The longer it sits, the better the flavors soak in, giving you that delicious tandoori taste when you cook.
- I usually skip food coloring in my dishes, but if you’re aiming for that restaurant-style look, feel free to add a pinch of red food coloring. I just use Kashmiri chilli powder to give that red color to the sauce.
- For a vegan version, just swap regular yogurt with a plant-based option like soy yogurt. It works just as well!
- You can actually make tandoori sauce without yogurt if you prefer. Just combine the ingredients together. But keep in mind the flavors will be a bit different from the authentic version.
- Recipe time is the time to prepare the sauce. It does not include time to marinade, this varies depending on how long you leave it to marinade.
Nigel says
What an amazing recipe! I used this marinade for Thanksgiving and it was a huge hit. Will be using this recipe again. Thank you.
Shradha K says
I made it with chicken it turned very juicy and Thank you and the instructions were very clear.