Hi CA
yeah, I prefer and do fry my spice mix in oil too, but as I said earlier, if there is going to be a fair amount of dry spices involved, I add ONLY the tandoori mix to the tomatoe paste to avoid drying out the pan.
But I think now your method of using extra oil and removing excess after cooking would be a better method.
I shall give it a go next time round.
Cheers