Tandoori Tempeh

Last night I made tandoori tempeh. As per my usual system of making curry pastes, powders and the like , I always at least double the recipe and reserve the remainder for another day. So here, I've posted the curry paste recipe for a single recipe but in actuality, I doubled everything in the paste portion, put it in a jar in the freezer. Since I have left over tempeh, I'll make it again soon and it will take about 5 minutes of prep. This time, I used about 10 oz of tempeh, sliced into triangles - but I am not entirely sure on the actual amount as I was using up leftover bulk. 


For the curry paste:


1 tsp cumin seeds 
1 tsp coriander seeds 
2 hot chilis or 1 tsp chili powder 
2 tsp garam masala 
2 tbsp sweet paprika 
Juice of ½ a lemon 
2 tbsp oil (neutral tasting like peanut, groundnut or canola)
1 tsp salt 
½ tsp turmeric 
1/2 tbsp tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, crushed 
Large knob of fresh root ginger, finely grated 


Toast cumin, coriander and chili peppers, if you are using them, in a pan until fragrant. Put in a spice grinder and make into a powder. Combine with rest of ingredients, adjust spices to personal preference, as needed. 


For the marinade:
Combine curry paste with:
5 oz yoghurt
1tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar


Pour about a third of the mixture or or enough to coat the bottom of a baking dish (I used a 10" square one). Place a layer of tempeh in the baking dish and pour over the remaining marinade. I ended up having a couple of extra triangles that didn't fit, so I put them on top and scooped marinade over them. Let it sit for 20 minutes to 2 hours, while you do your dishes and chop cucumbers for the salad or watch an episode of the Simpsons or Poirot or Doctor Who or whatever. Somewhere in there, remember to pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F.


When you are ready to bake, put it in the oven for 20 minutes or so. 


Then take it out and enjoy. We had ours over a bed of rice with a cucumber salad, dressed with a rice vinaigrette.