Tandoor anyone?

[infernooo]

Hi folks,

As an Indian food lover, I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw this on ebay while searching for some cookbooks! I really wish I could afford the space it takes up, but living in an apartment has its downsides :-(.

I have always dreamed of having my own tandoor oven - I know you can make substitutes by mucking around with tiles and webers or cast iron pans and ovens, but it's never the same.

Anyways, just a heads up for anyone like myself who is food crazy and would jump at the chance to get something like this.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...em=250059020035

[Shalmanese]

Goddamn it, I would have jumped at this if I was still in Aus . Eastern Suburbs, a buck. Damn.

[Ylee]

It looks great, and I'm a sucker for a bargain, but I can't imagine where I would put it if I were to get it! We're in a small apartment, and unless we sell the car and use the car space to house it .. it's going to be hard driving a tandoor to work.. hehe

[FXcuisine]

I have actually installed a natural-gas tandoor in my appartment and been using it for about a year now. Great thing, but monstrous. You have to put your hands in the 600°F monster's mouth. I just cooked a whole leg of lamb today as well as beautiful Afghan snowshoe naans.

There are many tandoors you can buy, here is a little breakdown:

1. Real Tandoor - made with clay and horsehair and charcoal fired. Not really an option in a Western home but you could have one in the garden. Really cheap in India.

2. Restaurant Tandoors - they all come in big stainless steel boxes on wheels. There are many fine models out there, charcoal-, electric- and gas-fired. But these are way too big for a home. The tandoors on Ebay and Amazon are like these.

3. Garden Tandoors - there is a British company who manufacture a small relatively convincing charcoal-fired tandoor but exclusively for outdoor use. I don't think it's big enough for naans though.

4. Home Tandoors - these are Western standards home appliances for people like you and me, namely individuals who would want a chance to cook real tandoor dishes in their homes but can't wait 3 hours for a charcoal fire to heat through and want the thing inside. A year ago, the only company I found making such products was The Clay Oven Company Ltd in London. Lovely people. The tandoor works great and has a European certification that convinced even the rather doubtful people from the gas company here in Switzerland. There are two very slight disadvantages. First it's made in cement, not clay, so it doesn't really qualify as a traditional tandoor. But most of the tandoors I've seen in Indian restaurants in the West use a similar material. And it doesn't use charcoal, but that's what I wanted. Probably with charcoal you get a better taste. I'm sure if you look now you'll find other company making tandoors that would work for you. They are not the world's most expensive appliances but weigh a good 100 kg. That was fun to bring up the stairs.

One more word - the tandoor is a formidable beast to tame. You'll need a powerful source of fresh air right at the bottom and a strong, heat resistant ventilation system. I had to make several changes to accommodate this. The huge gas burner burns so much oxygen you get dizzy after 30 minutes, and it's not carbon monoxyde but really lack of oxygen. I don't mean to discourage you but just help the planning.

I hope it helps!

You can see me using the tandoor in my Chicken Tandoori article or when I managed to reproduce a delicious warm tandoor-roasted vegetable salad from London restaurant Tamarind.

[piazzola]

Tandirs are one of the cheapest ovens to build and keep they could even be built of old drums.

Momgolians tribesmen use a portable type of tandir where they would make lamb meat pies

Uzbeks just use a large eathenware pot to make their famous plov rice dishes, breads and kofte.

Edited June 10, 2007 by piazzola (log)