Tandoor Oven

[Streetbob]

Not sure what category this comes under, but as I am using River Gum charcoal then this seems fitting.

Just taken delivery of a Indian Tandoor oven. Never thought I would own one, always thought they were the domain of Indian restaurants, however with a bit of research I had one in 3 days and is now pride of place on our modest deck.



Just getting used to it, hot to trot with the charcoal in about the same time as a Weber and the clay wall will stay hot longer as it is all insulated.



This baby gets HOT!



I can cook a full Tandoori Chicken in less than 30 mins without oil etc, still getting used to cooking Naan breads (less than 3 mins) some fatalaties haha but the cost of flour and water allows for a learning curve

[gtr fan]

That looks pretty awesome. Does the place you bought it from have a website. If so post up for others to see!

[Buccaneer]

http://thetandoorclayoven.co.uk/default.aspx

[urbangriller]

The new year will see these added to the Urban Griller stable, Just tied up an agency agreement with the Importer.

Looks like great fun!

Chris

[antiquesman]

Looks interesting. Another potential toy. Look forward to more info of things cooked in it.

[antiquesman]

http://www.tandoorliving.com.au/Tandoor ... -home.html

[Streetbob]

Yes Antiquesman pointed to the correct website above. TandoorLiving out of Melbourne for you Eastern Staters, and congrats Chris for getting the agency for WA. I could not beleive the lack of vendors over here, I tried the pizza oven places but no interest If I get any enquiries Chris I'll send em your way.

[charcoal_man]

I saw an article on these tandoors in the Epicure magazine of the Age newspaper (Melbourne paper) late last year. I've always wanted a tandoor, but thought they were big, ugly and expensive. Spoke with the guys from Tandoor Living (http://www.tandoorliving.com.au) in lead up to Christmas, bought one, and had it delivered in 2 days! The tandoor looks great and you can move it around easy. "streetbob's" right, these tandoors have great insulation with a thick inner clay pot and can get hotter, and stay hotter for longer, than your average webber. Cooked some great indian classics in the oven already - tandoori chicken, naan breads... The high temp charcoal cooking really makes a difference to the flavours - lip smacking What surprised me was how good your average BBQ tucker also cooked up in the tandoor. The tandoor came with skewers, and also a grill that fits inside the tandoor. Last weekend I cooked up a rack of pork on the grill in the tandoor and got the best crackling ever. I've also cooked up a rack of pork spare ribs using the skewers and a chook on the grill - they cooked in no time, were tender and juicy and had a ripper flavour (lots of crispy bits on the outside). These ovens don't just cook indian food

Called up Tandoor Living to to find out if they knew where I could get cheaper charcoal - been buying it for for about $40 for 15 kg from BBQ galore. They put me on to a shop that sells it for $22 for 20kg - seems like a good deal - can you get it cheaper?? They also said they were working on an accessory to cook pizza in the tandoor - will update when I get me one of those.

[urbangriller]

Hi Charcoal Man,

Welcome to the forum.

I was talking to Raymond at TL today, he has spent his holiday perfecting the pizza system. We should have it ready for sale in a couple of months.

Cheers
Chris

[lordsnipe]

There's no way to setup indirect on these is there?

Also, I'm guessing no drip pan is used? How are drippings dealt with?

[charcoal_man]

Not sure what "set up indirect" means - excuse my ignorance!

As for drippings, haven't had to worry about them in the tandoor. All the drippigs fall on to the hot coals and flash off - its pretty hot in there. Any residue left over is absorbed by the ash which is simply brushed out after a cook up when every thing has cooled down. There is no greasy stuff left behind at all !

I was worried about the dripping too. I guess the flash off effect works similar to how the charcoal chooks are cooked in the shops over charcoal - and as a bonus you also get that great chargrilled flavour in your tucker.

The guys at tandoor living siad that you can even roast a duck (which will render much more fat than a chook) in the tandoor and don't have to worry about the drippings. Tandoor duck is next on my to do list - will let you know how it goes.

[lordsnipe]

Yes, please let us know how it goes.

Indirect cooking is where the coals are offset to one side so the heat isn't directly grilling the food. Good to use when marinades with sugars etc are used. I guess you could do it to some degree here, but then you won't get the 'flash off' effect you described.

How even is the heat? Will the chicken skewered closer to the coals cook a lot faster than the chicken skewered closer to the lid?

[charcoal_man]

Got the picture about the indirect cooking!

In the tandoor you generally have most of the base covered with coals, but most of the cooking is still done "indirect". While this may sound contradictory, once the tandoor heats up, I reckon about 1/3 of the cooking heat comes from the coals below and 2/3 comes from the clay oven walls. As the clay pot is quite deep, you can cook quite a way from the coals, say 15-30 cm or more. You tend to get the cooking effect from pretty much all directions - from the bottom, sides and the top if you keep the lid on (with a little gap for air flow, skewers etc).

Once the oven has warmed up - sat 30-40 mins- the heat is very even, especially if you cook with the lid on (again with a little gap for air flow, skewers etc). The clay pot really keeps things hot all the way up the sides. I think this is a real difference to the webber style cookers where a lot o heat is lost through the thin lid, and most of the heat comes from the coals below.

[urbangriller]

If you put a spud in the bottom of the skewers, it will hold the food on and block some of the direct radiation on the lower food.

Chris

[Kiwi BBQ]

Wow, these look awesome. Would be keen to add one to my stable if I could convince the boss