What is a tandoor?
A tandoor is a hollow cylindrical oven similar to a large barrel but it is made up of clay. It is heated by burning charcoal inside at the base of the structure. It can be heated up to 900o F. Tandoor was founded in northwest India and is still used around the world. It takes a lot of time cool it down sometimes, even a whole night.
Purpose
Tandoor is used mainly to prepare assorted breads like naan, tandoori roti, laccha parantha etc. These breads are very unique in taste as they are exposed to the radiant heat and the smoke of the tandoor. The breads are pasted on the inner lining of the tandoor and are taken out within time by iron skewers as the dough rises and gets cooked.
Other preparations that can be cooked in a tandoor:
Peshawari Seekh: it is a dish prepared with Roasted Cashews, corn and cottage cheese marinated with cream and roasted in a tandoor.
Balochi Aloo: potatoes stuffed with cottage cheese, and roasted in tandoor.
Tandoori chicken: it is a chicken preparation in which the chicken is marinated with yogurt and traditional Indian spices (also known as khadey masale) and cooked in a tandoor.
Chicken tikka: it is a boneless chicken preparation which is first marinated with yogurt and spices and then cooked in a tandoor on skewers.
Types:
On the basis of origin:
Afghan tandoor: it is slightly different from traditional tandoor as the tandoor sits on a structure and made from bricks.
Punjabi tandoor: it is the conventional clay oven which is shaped as a bell; it can either be sent into earth or can rest above the ground.
Armenian tonir: “tonir” is the Armenian word for tandoor, in ancient times the Armenians worshipped “tonir” as they considered it to be the setting sun in the ground because sun was their deity. The tandoor was made inside the grounds and has been one of their traditional styles of cooking ever since.
On the basis of materials and source
Square tandoor: it is the modern type of tandoor which is common to be found in every modern restaurant kitchen. It is in a shape of a cube which is made from stainless steel and the clay pot is added later, the remaining space is filled with fiber blanket to keep the heat inside.
Even though the source of heat was always charcoal, but because of the irregular supply and a special exhaust for the smoke a lot of restaurants shifted to Gas tandoors. These are replicas of square tandoor but instead of charcoal, Liquid petroleum gas was adopted.
Clay Pot Tandoor: these are traditional handmade clay ovens which are prepared with the finest clay, hay and sheep hair are added to strengthen the structure so that it can withstand the high temperature.
Gas Tandoors and Clay Ovens 