C41 Masala Paste

This attempts to reproduce a Patak's style curry paste, not any specific variety but a combination of Tandoori, Kashmiri and Tikka pastes which are often used in combination in a marinade for chicken tikka. It makes a smaller quantity than you can purchase and is suitable for use in marinades or as a paste base for curry dishes. It is also used to make a Masala Sauce. You can buy the ready made Patak's offering but this allows you to adjust the flavours to suit your own taste and you know exactly what goes into it.

Ingredients

Makes about 4 tbspn	Continued...
3 tbspn oil	1 tspn ground cumin
1 tbspn ground coriander	¼ tspn paprika
2 tspn chilli powder	2 tbspn tamarind juice
2 tspn garlic powder	2 tspn cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1½ tspn ginger powder	1 tspn salt
1¼ tspn tandoori masala powder (see note 1)	1/8 tspn deep orange colour (or as required)

Preparation

Cut some tamarind block into small pieces (about 20 gm) and put in a small bowl and cover with about 75 ml of boiling water. Allow to 'steep' for at least 15 min (mashing a few times) and then press through a fine sieve to remove any debris. (This should produce about 2 tbspn of tamarind juice)

Cooking

Heat the oil (preferably in a wok or similar) over a low to medium flame and add the 7 spices and cook, stirring, for 1 min.
Stir in the salt, tamarind juice, cider vinegar/wine vinegar and food colouring and cook, stirring for 1 min, adding a little hot water to loosen as necessary.
Remove from the heat and add hot water as needed to produce about 60 ml (4 tbspn), mix well and allow to cool, then transfer to a small jar and refrigerate.

Notes

(1) Tandoori Masala spice mix can be purchased at many supermarkets and any Asian outlet.

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