Tikka masala is a fantastic dish no matter if it’s made with just vegetables, chicken, or whatever else you fancy. You can get some really great pastes that you just plop directly into your dish. This recipe for homemade tikka masala paste takes your dish from “delicious” to “fantastic”.
It is not difficult to make but it does require quite a few ingredients. I have most of my spices in seed form. This way they stay good and fragrant much longer than the ones in powdered form.
This paste stays good for a month if you keep it in a sealed jar. If you put it in the freezer it can stay good for six months.
The paste contains garam masala
To make this paste you need to make your own garam masala spice blend. This is a common spice blend in the Indian subcontinent, Mauritius and South Africa, and you can use it in a variety of dishes, so it’s always nice to have this in your spice cupboard.
This particular blend is one that I’ve come up with that uses the spices that I think to work together to make an awesome taste. If there are other spices that you prefer and love, give them a shot and add them to make your own garam masala.
If you want to speed up making this paste maybe you can go to your local spice shop and get their blend of garam masala and you will still get an awesome paste.
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If you use this in a dish and post it on social media, please tag me as @foodgeek.dk so I can see what you made. That would make me very happy.

Homemade tikka masala paste
Ingredients
Garam masala
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 tablespoon cardemom pods
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
- ½ tablespoon whole cloves
- 2 dried red chillies
- 2 tablespoon ground turmeric
Tikka masala paste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large piece fresh ginger
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tablespoon neutral oil
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 fresh chilies
- a good handful coriander / cilantro
Instructions
Make garam masala
- Heat a skillet to low heat.
- Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom pods, black pepper, fennel seeds, mustard seeds, clove, and dried chilies to the skillet. Toast until fragrant. It takes about 10 minutes.
- Grind the spices in a spice grinder or a mortar until it's a fine powder. Add tumeric.
- Put it in a sealed glass. You won't need all in this recipe.
Make tikka masala pasta
- Reheat the skillet to low.
- Remove the skin from the garlic and peel the ginger using a teaspoon.
- Put all the dry spices on the skillet and toast until fragrant. It takes about 10 minutes.
- Grind the spices in a spice grinder or mortar until it's a fine powder.
- Put everything in a mini chopper and process it until it's a fine paste.