Tandoori Chicken

[Gingerbaker]

What food colouring is best for tandoori dishes, the restaurant red colour?

[johnny.5]

Cochineal ?

[bednobs]

isnt it the spices rather than food colouring?

[EdmundD]

I buy Tandoori paste from a supermarket, marinade the food and then cook it. As bedknobs says it's the blend of spices that give it the colour.

[gingejbee]

Spices may provide some colour - but commercially-available tandoori spice mix contain artificial colour too eg tartrazine (E102) and/or Ponceau Red (E124).

[Gingerbaker]

Cochineal is banned apparently and is not available to buy. Natural spices such as Kashmiri chilli will give flavour and hotness but only a mildly orange colour. Any Indian chefs out there to share you secret?

[royfromaus]

Amazon.co.uk User Recommendation

[EdmundD]

https://greatcurryrecipes.net/2012/02/17/how-to-make-tandoori-masala/

[237SJ]

Paprika would give it colour without much flavour (providing it's not smoked paprika)

[pastafreak]

If it contains turmeric, that would give it a golden colour

[pastafreak]

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/tandoori-chicken-recipe/

[Mamyalynne]

Roy is right , if you want a bright hue, then add Annatto your mix.

https://www.finecooking.com/ingredient/tandoori-coloring

[Vagus]

Surely it’s the taste rather than the colour which is important?

[bednobs]

ah but what if you could have both?

[Vagus]

Give me taste over bright red colour anytime, not keen on dayglow colours in my food ;)

[Buenchico]

>>> Cochineal is banned apparently and is not available to buy

It's not banned, per se. It's only the name that has changed. Ever since E-numbers were introduced to indicate food safety, cochineal has been alternatively known as 'E120'. That product is still freely available but it can no longer be called 'cochineal'; the new name for it is 'carminic acid' (or simply 'carmines').

Alongside curcumin (E100) and lutein (E161b), E120 continues to be a used in nearly all products branded as 'natural red food colouring'.

[johnny.5]

https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-cochineal-red-food-colouring-60ml?istCompanyId=1e096408-041f-4238-994e-a7cf46bf9413&istFeedId=689af7a8-5842-4d88-be59-1ee5688a81b5&istItemId=pimxwillp&;istBid=t&&cmpid=cpc&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=15424330555&utm_content=shopping&utm_term=%257bsku%257d&;utm_custom1=129852755749&utm_custom2=759-449-0952&gclid=Cj0KCQiA95aRBhCsARIsAC2xvfy1UxnCT64uUb_uZJygkEp6Ik4CHZxA0VbL8NVL62Q5KuDK_wsOuyAaAhmjEALw_wcB&;gclsrc=aw.ds