This really easy homemade Tikka Masala Paste is great to have handy in the fridge, ready for your next impromptu curry night.
Tikka masala paste
I love to make my own pastes for all my curries - you just can't beat the sweet and spicy aromas of fresh curry paste hitting the surface of a hot pan. Tikka masala was the very first paste I ever made and I always remember how surprised I was at how quick and easy it was to make. - I'd always believed that I needed a jar of paste in order to get the recipe right. This is just not the case and actually the opposite is true!!
Once one paste has been mastered theres a whole world of pastes to explore! I also love to make my own biryani masala marinade (which goes amazingly well with cod) for a tasty homemade fish biryani. Thai curries are also a big favourite in our house and so its essential that I also know how to whiz up my own Thai green curry paste, Thai red curry paste, Thai yellow curry paste, or Massaman curry paste for tasty Homemade Thai green curry, Thai red curry, panang curry or Massaman curry.
How do you make tikka masala paste?
- A selection of Indian spices
- fresh garlic
- fresh ginger
- garlic cloves
- tomato puree
- olive oil
- fresh coriander
Pop all the ingredients into a blender and blend into a paste - For further detail have a watch of my 'How to' video at the bottom of this post!
What can I add to tikka masala paste?
Just a couple of teaspoons can be added to any meat or veggies and you have the makings of a great curry dish. I also love the fact that I know exactly whats gone into the paste so I can keep my curry dish nice and healthy. This recipe is also a vegetarian and vegan tikka masala paste, so can be used directly in a veggie or vegan curry without needing to adapt anything.
How do you use tikka paste?
I like to marinade sliced chicken breasts with a helping of this paste before cooking up a wonderfully healthy chicken tikka curry. But of course you could use any meat, fish or veggies. Or if you don't have time to make a paste, check out my quick chicken and almond curry.
How long does homemade curry paste last?
I often make up a large batch and fill a couple of jars to keep in the fridge for the next month or so.
The beauty of making your own paste is that you can make it as coarse or as smooth as you like and also alter the consistency by adding more or less water, depending on how you like it.
Its so easy and makes such good curry that I'll never go back to supermarket curry paste.
OTHER CURRY RECIPES:
- Thai red curry
- Thai red curry paste
- Thai green curry
- Thai green curry paste
- Massaman curry
- Massaman curry paste
- Thai yellow curry paste
- Chicken tikka masala curry
- Red lentil Tarka dahl
- Fish biryani
- Quick chicken and almond curry
- Spicy chicken soup
- Mulligatawny chicken and wild rice soup
For more recipe ideas for a cosy night in have a look at my romantic dinner recipes post.
Homemade Tikka Masala Paste
Ingredients
- 1 clove garlic roughly chopped
- 1 red chilli seeds removed and roughly chopped
- 2 cm piece of fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp Walnut oil
- 1 tbsp tomato puree
- Handful of fresh coriander chopped including stems
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a blender, wet ingredients first. Add just 1 tbsp of oil to begin with - more can be added as required.
- Blend until a smooth consistency is reached. Add more oil or tomato puree if the paste is too thick or if the blender is struggling to pulse together the ingredients.
- Taste a small amount and add more salt, tomato puree or even a dash of chilli powder if desired.
- For an extra kick add a few drops of Tabasco and a dash of Worcestershire sauce.
- Once completely blended the paste can be used immediately as a marinade: cover raw chicken with the paste and leave in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Alternatively you can jar it up and keep in the fridge for up to a month.
Video
PIN FOR LATER
emma
Love this paste and have never brought a curry paste since trying this recipe. I make a large batch then freeze it in an ice cube tray, each time I need paste I use one cube from frozen as and when needed and always enjoy the fresh taste
Debbie
Hi Emma! Thanks so much for your comment - so pleased to hear that you are enjoying the paste. Freezing in an ice cube tray is a great idea 🙂 Debbie x
Alison Cardwell
Thank you so much for this recipe, it's so nice to make a paste from scratch rather than buying it pre-made in a jar. This is going straight to my recipe folder, love it! I'm using the paste in a Jamie Oliver recipe where he actually uses a bought tikka paste and I just thought, no I'm going to make my own. So quick and easy I just blended it all in my spice/coffee grinder. I used coconut oil rather than walnut oil.
Debbie
thanks for your lovely comment Alison - so glad to hear that this recipe has been helpful for you 🙂 And fab that its going in your recipe folder 😉 Great idea to use your coffee grinder!! Ive never thought to do that!! 🙂
Kelly
Hi how many portions does one small jar use please? And could I use dried coriander and garlic paste instead of fresh?
Debbie Jones
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for your question. Yes you could definitely replace the garlic clove with garlic paste, this shouldn't make any difference. However, for the coriander the recipe already uses 1 tsp of dried coriander, the fresh was just to add extra flavour and a hint of green to the paste. If you don't have any fresh coriander to hand then I would just leave it out completely. Replacing with more dried coriander would be too overpowering and wouldn't have the same flavour as fresh.
In terms of portions, I recommending using 3 tsp of tikka paste when making a tikka masala curry for 4 people. 1 small jar should therefore be enough to make 4 batches of curry (each batch serving 4 people).
Hope this helps and makes sense. Any further questions please do let me know 🙂
Thanks,
Debbie
Amber Golden
Omg I’m doing the same recipe!!! Hope it was good.
Melanie
Can you freeze this recipe too?
Debbie
Hi Melanie! Yes you can!! Keeps well in the freezer for at least 3 months 🙂
Corina
It looks amazing - I just love the photography too! I really need to make my own curry paste to keep in the fridge rather than just a little each time I need it. Thanks so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice x
Debbie
Thanks Corina!! yes its definitely a good thing to have handy in the fridge - makes a last minute curry night really straight forward 🙂
applytofaceblog
I feel completely inspired! Fab photos and this sounds like something I should definitely have in my fridge.
Debbie
Thank you Jen!! Yes this is sooooo handy to have in the fridge - or even the freezer if you want to preserve it for a little longer 😀
applytofaceblog
I didn't know you could!Thankyou x