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 (I like making yogurt at home), 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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📖 Recipe
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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gtyuk says
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!!!
PranisKitchen says
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
Pari Vasisht says
Nice way to eat the root, the colour's so tempting.
Nithu Bala says
Tandoori mogo is something new to me..very lovely colour..congrats on your award and thanks for sharing it with me:-)I'l post soon..
Padhu Sankar says
New and interesting dish! Looks fantastic Congrats on your well deserved awards
Jeyashris Kitchen says
looks so yummy.new dish to me
Hamaree Rasoi says
Looks delicious .... Totally new dish to me...Not sure if we would get this here...
Congrats on your award dear
foodcreate says
Amazing look so delicious can't wait to try ...
Thank you for sharing your recipe 🙂
Have a awesome day
Unknown says
Congrats on your award!!! First time here.. Cassava dish looks delicious! You have a lovely space here with interesting recipes..
Meena says
Nice-looking dish...I have had it back home as a kid...never tried it yet...great recipe!
Gomathy S says
Congrats on your award...this is a new dish to me..lovely colour and nice click !!
MyExperimentsWithFood says
Dear please accept my awards at my blog
Dolly Sharma says
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.
Lena Jayadev says
woww..this looks super delicious...nice color..congrats on your award.. 🙂
Siddhi Shirsat says
wow nice dish...new 2 me...looks super yummy jagruti...nice colour...congrats for the award...