Tandoori is a traditional Indian seasoning blend that is used in dishes such as tandoori chicken. It is traditionally used for cooking in a tandoor, or clay oven, in traditional Indian, Pakistani and Afghan cooking. While the exact mix of spices can vary, the classic red-orange color of Tandoori Spice is always present.

All about Tandoori Masala, Spice Blend

What it’s like, and how to make it

HeatMild
CuisineIndian & south & asian
Best forRoasting, grill bbq, marinades rubs
Goes inGrills roasts, curry dal, roasted vegetables
WithChicken, lamb, fish seafood, vegetarian
What’s in itpaprika, lemon peel, nutmeg, beet powder, tomato powder, garlic, cayenne, cinnamon, fenugreek, coriander, cumin, sea salt

How to use it

The grill spice. Mix two tablespoons with yogurt and coat chicken thighs, lamb chops, or paneer — marinate for at least an hour, overnight is better. Grill, roast at high heat, or broil until charred. The lemon peel and paprika give you that tandoori color without food coloring. Also makes a killer roasted cauliflower.

Weeknight ideas

  • chicken
  • Tandoori Masala spice, shown over a chalk-and-watercolour illustration
  • Illustration: Tandoori Masala with Daryaganj in Old Delhi in the years after 1947
  • Illustration: Paneer Tikka, made with Tandoori Masala
  • Illustration: Tandoori Lamb Chops, made with Tandoori Masala
  • Illustration of Tandoori Masala in The Tea & Spice Shoppe bag and jar, with Daryaganj in Old Delhi in the years after 1947
  • Tandoori Masala - The Tea & Spice Shoppe
  • Our Tandoori Spice is a traditional Indian seasoning blend that is used extensively in dishes such as tandoori chicken. Though classically made in a tandoor clay oven, it's just as delicious cooked on an open grill.

What’s in it

Every herb in the blend, and where to read about it on its own.

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Paprika

    Capsicum annuum

    Dried sweet red peppers, ground. It is in twenty-eight products here mostly for colour and body — paprika gives a rub or a stew its red without adding heat, and it carries a soft, sweet pepper flavour that fills in the gaps between louder spices....

    Sweet red pepper, no heat, vivid colour; the smoked one adds deep oak smoke

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Fruit · Caffeine-free

    Lemon Peel

    Citrus x limon

    Dried lemon zest, granulated — pure lemon flavour with none of the moisture, which is precisely what makes it useful. A fresh lemon brings acid and water along with the aroma; dried peel brings only the aroma, so it can go into a dry rub,...

    Bright, pure lemon; dry, with no juice

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Nutmeg

    Myristica fragrans

    The seed of a fruit that also gives us mace — mace is the red lace wrapped around the shell. Nutmeg is warm, sweet and distinctly pungent, and it is one of the few spices where grating it fresh makes an unmistakable difference: whole nutmeg...

    Warm, sweet and pungent; noticeably brighter grated fresh than pre-ground

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Garlic

    Allium sativum

    A bulb, dried and broken down to three different coarsenesses, and the single most common ingredient in this catalogue — forty-three products carry it. Granulated is coarse and blooms slowly in hot oil; minced is visible pieces that plump up in a sauce; powder disappears...

    Sweet, toasty and savoury; deeper and rounder than fresh garlic, without the raw bite

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Cinnamon

    Cinnamomum verum, C. burmannii, C. loureiroi

    The inner bark of a laurel tree, peeled, dried and curled into quills. Three different trees are sold under the one name, and the shop carries all three: Ceylon (Cinnamomum verum), the soft, papery, floral one from Sri Lanka; Korintje (C. burmannii) from the Kerinci...

    Sweet, woody, warm — Ceylon floral and citrusy, Korintje smooth and familiar, Saigon bold and fiery-sweet

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Coriander

    Coriandrum sativum

    The round, ridged seed of the same plant whose leaf is cilantro — and it tastes nothing like it. Where the leaf is green and divisive, the seed is warm, citrusy and floral, closer to orange peel than to anything herbal. That is why plenty...

    Warm, citrusy and floral, a little sweet — orange peel and pepper together

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Cumin

    Cuminum cyminum

    A small ridged seed with a deep, earthy, faintly smoky smell — cuminaldehyde is the compound doing most of it. Cumin is one of the oldest travelling spices there is, and in this catalogue it is one of the busiest: twenty-three products carry it, which...

    Deep, earthy, warm, a little smoky and bitter, with a musky edge

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Salt · Caffeine-free

    Sea Salt

    Sodium chloride

    Seawater, evaporated. It is in twenty-five products here, which understates it — salt is the ingredient that makes every other ingredient taste like itself. Fine sea salt dissolves on contact and is the everyday cooking salt: a teaspoon in a soup pot, half a teaspoon...

    Clean salinity with nothing else in the way

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Cayenne

    Capsicum annuum

    Clean, direct heat with a dry, faintly fruity red-pepper taste behind it — the workhorse hot pepper of a North American kitchen. Standard cayenne runs 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville heat units; the shop's Mild is 40,000 and its Hot, which is actually a bird's eye...

    Heat first, then a dry, slightly fruity red-pepper taste

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  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Fenugreek

    Trigonella foenum-graecum

    The curry spice nobody talks about, and the one that smells like maple syrup. That is not a metaphor: the compound is sotolon, and it is the same thing used to make imitation maple flavouring. Fenugreek is bitter raw and bitter if over-toasted, and turns...

    Maple syrup and burnt sugar; bitter raw or over-toasted, sweetening as it cooks

    Learn more Sold on its own

  • Spice · Caffeine-free

    Tomato

    Solanum lycopersicum

    Dried tomato powder, in five products — all of them savoury blends. It is in there for umami: tomato is one of the richest ordinary sources of glutamate, so a spoonful of tomato powder in a seasoning mix makes everything taste more like itself without...

    Savoury and umami-rich with a mild acidity; it deepens a blend rather than tasting of tomato

    Learn more

  • Other · Caffeine-free

    Beet

    Beta vulgaris

    Beet powder, in a tandoori blend, and it is there for one reason: colour. Betalain pigments turn a marinade deep red without the food colouring that restaurant tandoori usually relies on, and they do it with a faint earthy sweetness rather than a flavour of...

    Earthy and faintly sweet; used for its deep red colour more than its taste

    Learn more

Every ingredient in the shop →

What it goes with

Here's a surprise — the lemon peel in this blend shares its signature compound with the bergamot in our Earl Grey. Brew a cup alongside tandoori chicken and taste the citrus echo. Our Assam is the classic Indian match for when you want bold and malty instead.

Reviews

What the time-travelers say

206 of the shop’s 213 reviews are five stars — left by people who actually bought the tea

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Great products and great service

I had a slight mix up on my order, they were quick to reply and correct my order with no issues. Amazing service and great…

I had a slight mix up on my order, they were quick to reply and correct my order with no issues. Amazing service and great products.

— Nick C. Verified

Great tea

A lovely, delicate tea. The peach is strong without being overwhelming or cloying, and the calendula is a nice addition. Very…

A lovely, delicate tea. The peach is strong without being overwhelming or cloying, and the calendula is a nice addition. Very tasty!

— Zoe R. Verified

Maple Peach

The maple peach is delicious. What a beautiful combination. I will most definitely order it again, and a higher quantity of it.

— Gerda S. Verified

Always handy

I use dillweed often. This dill is fresh and has a nice aroma. I use it in marinades, salad dressings, and on fish. Good stuff.

— Jennifer D. Verified

Great stuff

This has helped my household a lot with circulation and alertness when we had it everyday. Will be ordering again soon. Thanks

— Dave G. Verified

Love this tea. Hands down my fav rooibos. This store is our one-stop-shop for tea and spice. Great service, top notch product.…

Love this tea. Hands down my fav rooibos. This store is our one-stop-shop for tea and spice. Great service, top notch product. 10/10!!

— Erin Poeta P. Verified

Delicious

I love this black tea, it has a really nice smooth flavour and love how it’s Swiss water method decaf. Will be buying again!

— Jessica A. Verified

Great flavorful tea

Toffee Ole is one of our favorite teas to share with friends in the evening, when we want something non-caffeinated but quite…

Toffee Ole is one of our favorite teas to share with friends in the evening, when we want something non-caffeinated but quite flavorful.

— Joel R. Verified

Another full bodied ‘real tea’ . ie It is not a flavoured tea. However, we do very much enjoy the Cafe Latte tea which is a…

Another full bodied ‘real tea’ . ie It is not a flavoured tea. However, we do very much enjoy the Cafe Latte tea which is a flavoured tea!!!

— Ted H. Verified

teas

love , love, love and they shipping is very fast. the headache tea works great, the throat coat tea works great as well

— Miranda A. Verified

4 stars

It worked beautifully; perhaps if I add a little more honey, it would make it better… It is a wellness tea, after all!

— Merrilee B. Verified

Bancha with a splash of lemon

A wonderful Green Tea. Smooth in taste. Also suitable as a summer tea with a splash of lemon. A second infusion makes an…

A wonderful Green Tea. Smooth in taste. Also suitable as a summer tea with a splash of lemon. A second infusion makes an enjoyable second cup!

— Monika F. Verified

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