If you are an indian you are very much familiar with this word.If you are not you probably must have heard of it.A tandoor basically does the same function as a barbecue but just a little bit better.Basically india is a dense populated country so the kitchens are less in area and the houses are small.So there are more appartments rather than those single surbarban households.I think this is a very good reason why barbecues which are heavy and bulky are not much used in India.Rather we have given birth to a thing called tandoor which do not take much space.
Now that does not mean you can put a tandoor right in a middle class owned Indian home.No.These tandoors are mostly used in big hotels or fancy restaurants.
Why do i prefer tandoor over barbecue? Because tandoor is basically cooking meat in mid air from all directions and still getting the charcoal effect on the meat.Tandoor cooked chicken is more tastier than grilled chicken for me.
Best dishes for Tandoor -
Naans and Rotis,Chicken Drumsticks,Qualis,Lamb Kebabs,etc.
Note - I think India has the most religions and castes in the whole world combined.So eating all kinds of meat are prohibited.Cows are worshiped in India while pigs are banned to eat in Islam.so i have not heard of people cooking beef,pork,etc in a tandoor here.But it does not mean you cannot cook it.
The Principle
The principle is basic.You have clay or metal ovens which can maintain heat upto a whooping 500 degrees and provide smoky quick cooking.You layer the bottom with bricks and add coal.The coal heats up and raises the temprature of the tandoor and you can use steel rods to pierce the meat and place inside,Or you can stick all purpose flour made naans on the walls.
Types of Tandoor
1. Clay Oven Tandoor
This is the oldest traditional method where the substance used in manufacturing is clay and hence the name.As we all know clay has properties of withstanding heat at high tempratures and it serves the purpose.It is mostly used in the oldest traditional restaurants of the country.
However being bulky in size,they are mostly permanently fixed to the ground with cement and cannot be moved around.
2. Metal Oven Tandoor
From the name you know it has a metal body instead of clay.The purpose and result is same as that of a clay oven tandoor.The added advantage is a hole in the bottom which can be used to change the coals whenever you want to.Whereas the clay oven tandoors are mostly fixed permanently to the ground and do not have that option.Also it has wheels and can be moved with ease.
It is slightly less in size and has a good metallic finish to it and hence is a very fancy utensil to keep in a 5 star hotel.Now a days whichever 5 star hotel in any part of the world you may be,you will always find a metal oven tandoor as the tandoori dishes have gained huge popularity.
3. Drum Tandoor
This version used by local restaurants and food joints.It is basically an oil drum which is emptied and bricks are added to layer the metal at the bottom,while on the bottom you add coal like a regular tandoor.This is brilliant as it is so inexpensive to manufacture.
4. Gas Oven Tandoor
this is my gas oven tandoor which i use regularly at home.
There is also a more modern version of the gas oven tandoor now as you can see below.The advantage it provides is that it does not heat up much like the metallic gas oven tandoor and as you can see the look is good too.Also,you have a glass plate so you can see what is happening inside without lifting the lid,Otherwise the function is pretty much the same.
As you can see the inside plate of modern gas oven tandoor has holes and cuts instead of the grill in the case of normal gas oven tandoor.Now the marinade and butter will fall and create the smoke in both the cases.But what i like about the grill is that it will create those grill chars on the meat.The grill will stick to the meat and it will get a more traditional look.
Happy Cooking :-)
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