A general purpose spice paste, distinctly Goan in style in containing chillies, vinegar, garlic, pepper and cloves. In fact, I suspect that this is a version of a traditional spice paste widely used in Goa which will be the subject of a forthcoming post and related recipes...
This is a slightly adapted version of Rick Stein's Recipe in "Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey", link below. I am posting it as partnering recipe to "Goan Lobster", but it has many more uses. For example, try coating mackerel fillets in the paste and pan-frying or barbequing. Alternatively, use as a marinade for chicken pieces or pork chops. Go(an) mad!
Goan Masala Paste
Ingredients (makes enough for about 8-10 servings and keeps indefinitely)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2” ginger, roughly chopped
100g mild red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 tsp light muscovado sugar, or similar
1 tbsp tamarind paste, e.g. Bart
2 tbsp (or more) red wine or cider vinegar
Method
Grind the cumin and coriander seeds, peppercorns and cloves to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder.
Put all the ingredients including the spice powder in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste adding additional vinegar if necessary.
References
"Rick Stein's Seafood Odyssey", Rick Stein (1999) pp. 241: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rick-Steins-Seafood-Odyssey-Stein/dp/0563551860