Recipe: All-Purpose Tandoori Paste

There's a recipe for tandoori chicken in a Charmaine Solomon cookbook I own that I've made many times and really love. The paste in the recipe has great flavour and colour, yet is pretty easy to make -- that said, often I don't feel like skinning a whole chicken! I used her paste recipe as a jumping-off point and came up with one that works for us with anything from chicken, to pork, to cubed tofu on skewers! Ingredients:

• 1 tsp saffron strands

• 2 tbsp boiling water

• 2.5 tbsp garlic, peeled and chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh ginger, finely grated

• 2 tbsp lime juice

• 1 tsp chili powder

• 1/8 tsp cayenne powder

• 2 tsp paprika

• 1/2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tbsp garam masala

• 2 tsp salt

Soak the saffron strands in boiling water for 10 minutes. Add to small blender container (or use a mortar and pestle), along with garlic, ginger, lime juice, chili powder, cayenne powder, paprika, ground cumin, garam masala and salt. Blend until smooth.

Apply to meat or tofu, and marinate for 12-24 hrs, mix with some melted butter and use as a basting sauce for skewered veggies and meat. If you need to stretch it a bit further, mix it with a bit of yogurt and use as a marinade or dipping sauce. This would also make a yummy condiment for burgers or steak. :)