Here at JCO, we love our exciting appetisers, especially the kind that wake up your taste buds! This Tandoori Mogo is exactly that. Mogo is tossed in a bold tandoori marinade, then baked until charred on the edges. It’s full of character and seriously addictive.

Baked cassava in a cast-iron skillet.

Note – This recipe has been updated from the archives – first published in March 2010. I’ve added new images and helpful content, the recipe remains the same.

This dish is a Dhanecha family special. My mum learnt it from her late sister-in-law, who grew up in East Africa. Mogo was a staple for East-African Indians and no two households made it the same way.

It’s one of those ingredients we keep coming back to and reinventing. We’ve played around with it in all sorts of ways – crispy plain mogo chips, or a bold Indo-Chinese masala mogo or Schezwan chilli mogo inspired by a dish I tried at a restaurant and couldn’t stop thinking about.

Tandoori spice pairs beautifully with mogo – it’s creamy mellowness helps soak up the flavour. Once grilled, you get a soft centre and crisp edges – just like my Tandoori Paneer Tikka.

The Recipe Breakdown

When I make this at home, I always start with a homemade tandoori marinade which is the real star of the show. I mix passata with tandoori masalas, yogurt, lemon juice, and a good hit of green chillies, and garlic and ginger paste.

But one thing I don’t do is throw raw onions straight into the mix because they stay sharp and undercooked. Instead, I fry them off first until they’re soft, sweet, and golden. It makes a world of difference.

Once the cassava is boiled and cooled, I toss everything together and let it marinate (the length of time depends on how far ahead I’ve prepped). I then bake until it’s cooked through and starting to catch at the edges.

The result? Smoky, spicy mogo with proper depth of flavour in every bite.

I also used to help make these for family BBQs when I was little. My job was to prep the marinated mogo into little foil parcels ready for the grill. There’s just something about that smoky char from the coals that takes the flavour to a whole new level!

I like to serve it with something fresh and zingy. My go-to is crisp green salad leaves, sliced Indian onion salad and thick Indian mint yogurt sauce.

What I love about this one is that it’s easy to make ahead, especially for larger get-togethers. I’ve even prepped the marinade a day in advance and really let the flavours meld.

Tandoori baked cassava chips topped with fresh salad and red onion slices.

As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!

Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!

A skillet filled of tandoori mogo placed on the wooden board.

Tandoori Mogo

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Tandoori Mogo is a flavour-packed appetiser. Boiled mogo chips are tossed in a spicy tandoori marinade and baked until charred and crispy.
Course Appetizer
Cuisine East-African, Indian
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 10 servings
Author Hayley Dhanecha

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 1 kilogram mogo cassava
  • 500 millilitres passata
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 3 green chillies chopped
  • 2 tablespoon ginger garlic paste combined
  • 2 tablespoon kashmiri chilli powder
  • 2 teaspoon cumin coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon chaat masala
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 teaspoon kasoori methi
  • 3 tablespoon plain yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoon oil
  • coriander finely chopped
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Boil mogo in salted water until just tender. (I used frozen cassava for ease). Cut into chips.
  • In a pan, sauté the chopped onions until translucent and soft.
  • In a mixing bowl, add the yogurt, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, cumin coriander powder, garam masala, chaat masala, black pepper, kasoori methi, salt, lemon juice and passata. Also add in the sautéed onions.
  • Pour this tandoori marinade over the boiled cassava and allow to marinate for 30 minutes. Alternatively, move to the next stage immediately.
  • Preheat the oven to 170C / 340F or Gas Mark 3-4.
  • Place the marinated mogo in a casserole dish or oven safe skillet. Cover with foil.
  • If you are going to BBQ, divide into smaller portions and add to pockets of foil. Seal tightly.
  • Bake covered in the oven for 30 minutes, then remove the foil, turn up the heat to 200C / 390F or Gas Mark 6 and bake uncovered for an extra 10-15 minutes or until charring at the edges.
  • Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with extra lemon wedges.

Video

Notes

Instead of adding the individual spices, you can also use store-bought tandoori masala powder. 
Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 5 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 105mg | Potassium: 570mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 769IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 2mg

PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.

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Hi! I'm Hayley. Many of these recipes are inspired by my Mum's upbringing in India and my Dad's East-African Indian influence. This British-Asian background allows me to explore the culinary best of both worlds.

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62 Comments

  1. I love cassava but have never had it prepared with such flavor! Usually I just ahve it in a simple garlic sauce. This looks too good not to try though. Congrats on your awards!

    Reply

  8. Kudos & yummy is the prep….. You have prepared them well….. It is worth all the efforts when it is liked by the family…..

    Ash….

    Reply

  14. Thats a different dish , unique one, even i am not aware of this cassava till now but sounds really interesting,would love to try it out…looks delicious and lovely colour it has got too….congraz on your award jagruti and thanks so much for passing it on to me as well…

    Reply

  16. Thats preety new to me! looks gr8 as always! am sending an entrty for ur event today..glad u extended the date..havent been able to blog often these days!

    Cheers

    Reply

  18. Lovely dish. I have never had this version of cassava. Looks yummy. I guess I will love it as much as your daughter did!
    Dear, Thanks a plenty for the award. I will pick it and display soon..if not this week, next week..a bit busy this week.

    Reply

  22. Oh, they have frozen cassava there, cool! Here we normally buy them fresh with the skins intact.

    Thks for the award. Will paste it at my Veganformation blog. Thks

    Reply

  26. Lovely preparation.. Never thought of cooking cassava tandoori way. Shall bookmark to try when I will have loads of cassava after the harvest.

    Reply

  32. Hello my friend,
    looks very interesting dish, never cooked cassava before, though I love tandoori .
    thanks for your visit and sweet comment.
    I will come to visit again.

    Reply

  34. Tandoori mogo looks delicious.Mogo is also one of my familys favourites.I make chilli mogo.An award waiting for you on my blog.Please collect.Good to see you back blogging.

    Reply

  35. I have never tried cassava, but I have seen it frozen at the store. So I know it is avaliable here. This dish looks so wonderful. I would love to try it. Thanks so much for honoring me with an award!

    Reply

  36. Hai ,
    When I saw this recipe I didnt get actually what cassava is and so I did google search and guess what this is like my staple food too..We malayalees call this kappa and the english name I knew was Tapioca.a new recipe to try out with Kappa..
    in btw Thank u so much for visiting my sisters blog dear.She needs a little coaching abt commenting and following..She may be a bit late to visit u 🙂

    Reply

  50. Dear Jagruti this is new to me too..BUt sounds and looks awesome..Will try this soon. Happy Belated MOther's Day to you..loved ur mother's day post and saw how ur kids and hubby and ur dad from India made it all so special…Also went thru ur poem dedicated to ur mom and my eyes were moist..I'm sure she's watching over you…and she's oh so proud of you…

    Last but not the least..Congratulations on ur award..You truly deserve them.

    Reply

  61. this recipe is new to me..nice presentation
    congrats dear..and thanks for your comments..You too have awonderful space..
    Have a good collection of recipes..Keep it up

    Reply

  62. Dear Jagruti,

    congratulations for that lovely award and thank you so much for including me in your "good friends" list , that's a warming message for the day!!!! & thank you for sharing the award with me too!!!! enjoy !!!!!!

    this tandoori preparation using the cassava is something new, have never tried it!! sounds delicious and unique, that's something I should try !!! have a nice week end!!!

    Reply

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