AVOCADO OIL MASALA PASTE

I love spicy food, but sometimes when you eat food made with hot peppers, all you can taste is heat. You know what I’m talking about — that nothing tastes good because your mouth is on fire kind of heat.

After years of cooking and trying different kinds of dishes, I’ve found that there are two kinds of spicy. The warm, aromatic version you get from things like cinnamon, ginger, and cloves, and then the chili pepper kind that burns your mouth. I like both, don’t get me wrong, but in cool weather, I prefer the former, with a bit of heat from peppers, but not too much.

This week’s recipe is for something a little different. It’s not for a meal that you can make for dinner, but this recipe for masala paste can help you turn a lot of different foods into amazing meals. It’s so easy, and seriously good.

It starts with a base of tomato paste, and added to that is a potent blend of herbs and spices and, of course, avocado oil. I cook the tomato paste in the oil in a skillet over low heat to deepen the flavor, but you can definitely skip that step if you want to.

Once you’ve blended it together, you have endless possibilities for how to use it. It’s perfect made into curries with coconut milk — it’s particularly good with chicken or shrimp. I’ve cooked it with red lentils and spinach, and even spread it over naan for a snack. One recipe is enough for several meals — you only need a couple tablespoons to get the flavor. You can use this in place of any jarred curry paste you may have used in the past, and trust me, this is way better. Just sauté some onion and a protein of your choice, add a dollop of masala paste with some stewed tomatoes and coconut milk. Serve over rice. Delicious.