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 hot tandoori marinade, then baked until charred on the edges. It’s full of character and seriously addictive.
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.
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!
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Tandoori Mogo
Ingredients
- 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
Nutrition
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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Namitha says
It's a staple in Kerala too..and we make lots of dishes out of this:D
Got to try this version sometimes..looks awesome
ann low says
What a wonderful dish and congrat on your award.
Urmi says
Congratulations for your award.
Absolutely new dish for me. Looks delicious and yummy.
Menaga Sathia says
wowwww lovely cassava..never tried it in ur style.colour looks super!!
~ Lopa says
Awwww...thanks for the award Jagruti 🙂
jcookingodyssey says
Thank you guys!!
Nandinis food says
Wow! It's lovely! I never tried cassava in tandoori style. I'll surely try!
PJ says
never had mogo.. but sounds so interesting! congrats on the awards too!
Simply Life says
oh this looks great!
Cicily Antony says
congrats for the awards...more waiting for u in my blog...and mogo looks yummy...
Unknown says
New dish to me. Looks delicious.Congrats on your award.
Vineetha Sush says
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 🙂
Bo says
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!
Simplyfood says
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.
Priya Suresh says
Such a eye catching dish, very new to me..congrats on ur awards..