Tandoor
India's Oven
The Tandoor
The tandoor is a cylinder oven that is used in tandoori cooking. It is made of clay with a wood charcoal fire, while more modern models can have a steel construction and a gas fire. The tandoor is said to have been originated in the Middle East and Central Asia. The tandoor oven uses radiant heat, hot air, and smoke to cook the various foods.
This is traditional tandoori food cooking. On the top right is naan bread and roasting are kababs and meats.
Tandoori Cooking
Tandoori is a very unique style of cooking. Meats are given a coat of plain yogurt to retain moisture and to hold spices. The traditional spices are ginger, garlic, coriander, cayenne, and garam marsala. After this is applied they marinate for up to eight hours before being placed in the tandoor. Everything that goes into the tandoor is skewered into kebabs except for the naan. Naan is a type of bread that bakes on the inner chimney of the tandoor, this gives it it's signature char with large air bubbles.
Did you know?
The earliest examples of a tandoor style oven were found in the settlements of the Indus Valley Civilization.
Some popular tandoori dishes
One of the most popular dishes is tandoori chicken. It originates from Pakistan and has an orange hue from all the spices. Another chicken dish is chicken tikka which is skewered marinated chicken. It is usually eaten with a green coriander chutney or turned into a curry named chicken tikka masala. One of the most popular kebabs in tandoori cooking is tandoori paneer tikka, this is a kebab consisting of chunks of paneer "a soft cheese" and lots of roasted vegtables.
The source of heat for a tandoor oven is charcoal. Usually the coals are left in for a long time and temperatures can reach as high as 900 degrees fahrenheit.
Did you know?
In India a second name for the tandoor is bhatti. This refers to the Bhatti tribe of the Thar desert who developed the bhatti or tandoor to cook.
Bibliography
tandoori cookery." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. http://school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9071155?query=tandoor&ct=null
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. http://school.eb.com/all/eb/article-9071155?query=tandoor&ct=null
"What is a tandoor and where do they originate from?" http://www.indianfoodsguide.com/food-articles/indian-food-articles/what-is-a-tandoor-and-where-does-tandoori-originate-from?.html
Masala Art,"What is tandoori cooking?",April,25,2012 http://masala-art.com/what-is-tandoori-cooking/