Tandoori

 


Tandoori is a technique of cooking meat, poultry, fish or bread over the tandoor, a cylindrical or a bee-hive shaped clay oven. In this technique of cooking, the meat is usually coated or marinated with a paste of assorted herbs and spices, skewered into long metallic stick and cooked in the extremely hot and smoky conditions created by the tandoor. The tandoori cooking process is synonymous to the tandoor recipes which are also known as tandoori. The design of the tandoor is a hybrid of the masonry oven and the makeshift earth oven, which is used exclusively for radiant heat and live fire cooking. The oven is dug into the earth and bears a thick clay enclosure where the heat can easily reach 900 degrees F. Some of the best known tandoor recipes are tandoori chicken, chicken tikka, chicken kebab and tandoori roti.


Origin of Tandoor Recipes
Tandoori delicacies seem to have been popular since the ancient Indus Valley Civilization as the oldest tandoor type ovens have been found from the earliest settlements of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro. The word “tandoor” derives its name from Dari words like tannūr and tandūr. Some historical accounts also trace back the origin of tandoor recipes to the times of the Mesopotamians and Aryans. However, the origin of tandoori chicken is quite clear. The recipe is said to have become popular in Peshawar before the Partition of India, and it was created by the Peshawar Moti Mahal restaurant owner Kundan Lal Gujral, while experimenting with various tandoor recipes. This tandoori dish became so popular that soon its derivatives were also discovered like the chicken tikka.


The Process of Tandoor Cooking
In the tandoori method of cooking, the heat of the smoldering embers is re-radiated from the bottom which cooks the meat quickly, sealing in the juices and producing a succulent tandoori meat. One special secret of the tandoor  recipes also lies in their marinade which is generally yogurt based that creates the natural acidity and creamy texture that keeps the herbs and the spices glued to the meat. The main ingredient to be cooked in the tandoor is traditionally marinated in a spice mixture comprising ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, coriander powder, garam masala, dried fenugreek, lemon, roasted and grinded grams and several other assorted spice and herbs. The tandoori meat is marinated for several hours to tenderize the meat and to allow the spices soak the meat completely. Meats are the most popularly cooked tandoor recipes and even though chicken is most popular amongst them, beef and lamb is also cooked in tandoor ovens. Tandoori fish is also a favorite. The vegetarian tandoori options like paneer or cottage cheese and certain vegetables are also popular. Amongst the earliest tandoor recipes are the Indian flat breads like tandoori roti and naan, which are similar to the Pita bread of the Middle Eastern cuisine with a flaky crust and soft core. The cooking technique for the tandoor breads is to roll the dough flat and round with a rolling pin and baking each bread on the oven for 4 to 5 minutes in 200 degrees Celsius. Often these breads are stuffed with fillings like pound meat, nuts and raisins, potatoes etc e.g. keema naan, Kashmiri naan, aloo naan. The tandoor recipes traditionally belong to Indian, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Middle East, Central Asia, Bangladesh, Balkans, Armenia, Iran and Turkey.


Popular Tandoor Recipes
Tandoori Chicken and Chicken tikka are amongst the most popular tandoor recipes, and traditionally belong to the South Asian cuisine. Tandoori chicken, which is typically reddish orange in color because of the rich spice marinade in which it is soaked for hours, is roasted in the earthen oven. Usually chicken breast is used in preparing this dish. For chicken tikka, small boneless meat pieces are marinated in the tandoori masala (tandoori spice mix), skewered and grilled on the oven and served with a chutney like green coriander dip, sliced onions and fresh lemon wedges. Dishes like barbecued chicken and grilled chicken are the west adopted modern tandoor recipes. In Armenia where tandoor oven is called “tonir,” barbecue meat and lavash bread are the most popular tandoori delicacies and in Georgia where the oven is called “tone,” kebabs and breads are mostly prepared on it.


Advantages and Disadvantages of Tandoor Cooking
The main advantage of tandoori cooking technique is that it cooks the meat in its own juices, which results in delicious succulent and tenderly cooked meats. The high heat ensures that the meat or the bread, or whatever tandoor recipes are made, they are cooked inside out by retaining their natural flavors and softening to the “melt-in-the-mouth” feel. However, tandoori cooking does require a lot of patience and time as the food usually first needs to be marinated for several hours and then, it takes several hours to cook completely in the re-radiated heat of the oven.

Tandoor Trivia
Tandoori delicacies can also be cooked in electricity grill, barbecue grill or gas grill.