Tandoori ovens are used in Indian and Pakistani restaurants to cook dishes such as tandoori chicken and naan. The oven provides high, dry heat using coal and is used to cook meats and bread. Marinades and dry spice rubs are used to add flavor and moisture. The oven is difficult to replicate, but some backyard chefs have created their own versions.
Most Indian and Pakistani restaurants offer dishes such as tandoori chicken or tandoori lamb or present guests with a toasted flatbread called naan. All of these dishes are created in specialized equipment called a tandoori oven, or simply a tandoor. It is essentially a very large clay pot, often standing on its shoulders above the kitchen floor. The sides of a furnace curve inward towards a centralized drain hole. It is similar to a traditional pizza oven used in Italian restaurants or an open-air barbecue in American grills.
A tandoori oven is designed to provide very high, dry heat. The fuel for the fire is provided by the coal lining the bottom of the structure. In order to produce temperatures approaching 900°F (480°C), employees maintain a long vigil to keep the coal burning at all times. At such high temperatures, most foods cooked in this oven develop a very crisp outer layer without sacrificing any moisture inside.
Foods intended for this type of preparation are usually marinated in lime- or yogurt-based marinades to add flavor and moisture. Others may be given a dry spice rub, which gives tandoori dishes their signature red hue. In the case of bread, the unbaked loaves are quickly pressed against the upper walls of the oven and removed by hand a few minutes later. Bread can burn very quickly, so it often takes an experienced Indian cook to know when to remove it from the heat.
Meats such as chicken, fish, beef and lamb do very well in tandoori ovens. Traditionally, the meat is first skewered on a thin metal blade and inserted into the central hole in the oven. The meat hangs in the hottest part of the oven above the coals. After a few minutes, the overheated meat is removed and placed on a bed of basmati or other savory rice. Different sauces may also be offered, including some based on yogurt, citrus or curry.
It can be difficult to duplicate the dry heat cooking process of this type of oven, but some backyard chefs have been able to create their own brick versions. Cooking in small clay pots is also a popular practice in some Mexican and Central American restaurants. The tandoor is generally found in the northern regions of India and Pakistan, but some Turkish and Greek restaurants use a slightly modified version in their commercial kitchens.
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