Tandoori Oven

If you have been to Indian restaurants for either Indian or Middle Eastern food, you can't miss the legendary tandoori chicken on the menu card. For a beginner, you may not have an idea about the taste but when you eat it, there are no words to describe the extraordinary taste of that hot crispy burnt chicken along with butter in your mouth. This is exactly how food cooked in the tandoor oven tastes, and it is one of the most unique and unbelievable treats to your taste buds when you are in for a surprise! Apart from the food, let's talk about what is a tandoori oven? Well, it is known to be a cylindrical oven made from clay and is used to bake and cook food. It is very commonly found in countries like India, Pakistan, Turkey, Central Asia and other Middle Eastern countries.

What is a Tandoori Oven Used for?

Tandoori ovens are large clay ovens which are cylindrical in shape and are heated with the help of charcoal or wood fire supplied at the base of these ovens. This cylinder is hollow from the inside, where the charcoal is placed and the food which is to be cooked is either hung right above the fire or stuck to the sides of the clay surface. Because the food comes directly in contact with the food, this type of cooking is also known as hot air or radiant heat cooking. The speed of cooking in this oven is very fast, because the heat in the clay oven is found to be about 580 degrees C (900 degrees F), which is maintained for hours, making the process of cooking food quick and easy.

Benefits and Uses

• The ancient tandoori ovens were typically made from clay and thus, the tinge of this charred clay always seeped into the food cooked in these ovens, giving them a unique taste. So, if you are bored of eating the same type of food everyday, get yourself one of these.
• Food recipes which are cooked in the tandoori oven are usually marinated and spiced up so that the cooked flavors taste extraordinary to your taste buds. You can thus cook, all types of meat, bread, vegetables and fruits in this oven, but with the help of thin metal blades used to expose the food directly to the heat.
• Another major benefit of this oven is that you don't need oil for cooking as it is specially designed for dry cooking methods. You can add the butter and oil after the food is cooked, which you usually do in barbecues.
• As mentioned earlier, the time taken to prepare food in a tandoori oven is less than cooking food in any other oven, because the temperatures are very high and the oven is heated continuously for a very long period of time.

How to Use a Tandoori Oven

• The oven has a clay base right at the bottom of the cylindrical body, where you have to add either the charcoal or the wood. So, place the charcoal and add the firelighters to start the fire.
• There is a side door to the oven which allows air to flow in and maintain the temperatures inside. After the fire has been lit, close this door and let the oven heat up. After about an hour, the oven is ready to use.
• Insert the meat in the skewers and place them in the middle of the oven a little above the heat. If you are making bread recipes, stick the dough to the inner walls of the heated oven.
• You don't have to add a lid to this oven as the mouth is comparatively narrow and since the side door is closed you need some airflow in the oven. After a few minutes, remove the cooked food and make sure all of it is cooked well. You are ready to enjoy the delicious tandoori food you prepared.

With these great tips to use a tandoori oven and the benefits of it, I am sure you are waiting to order a nice plate of juicy tandoori chicken! Well, you can enjoy this yummy food with unique taste as it is definitely one of a kind.