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Friday, September 16, 2011

WHAT IS A ' TANDOOR ' AND ' TANDOORI FOODS ' ....

A  ' TANDOOR ' ....

A ' Tandoor ' is a cylindrical clay oven used
in cooking and baking.
The heart of Indian barbecue is the tandoor,
a barrel shaped oven made from clay.
The heat in  a tandoor was traditionally generated by a charcoal or wood fire, burning within the tandoor itself. So  exposing the food to live-fire, radiant heat cooking, and hot-air, convection cooking, and smoking by the fat and food juices that drip on to the charcoal. Temperatures in a tandoor can reach 480°C (900°F), and it is common for tandoor ovens
to remain lit for longer  periods.
A charcoal or wood fire is lit in the bottom, and food is placed through the neck on long skewers to be cooked at high temperatures.
The tandoor is used for cooking certain types 
of Iranian, Afghan, Pakistani and Indian foods such as tandoori chicken, chicken tikka and bread varieties like tandoori roti and naan.
The word ' Tandoori '  is the adjective meaning "pertaining to the tandoor" and is used to describe a dish cooked in a tandoor.
In Sanskrit, the tandoor was referred to as kandu.
The oldest examples of a tandoor were found 
in the settlements of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization, though earlier tandoor-type ovens have been recovered in early-Harappan contexts also.
Tandoor is a method of cooking food in a clay oven at a high temperature of 400c. The meat
is marinaded for a long, before put on skewers and then placed vertically in the clay pot where there is  intense heat. Tandoor cooked food has unique flavor, which comes because of the  marinade, clay also  imparts an earthy flavour and the use of charcoal.
The   "Indian Tandoori Chicken" is bound to bring water to everyone's  mouth.
Tandoori chicken is one of the most popular delicacies and all non vegetarians relish it.
In many Indian restaurants, red tandoori chicken is served with sliced onions and wedges of fresh lemon. Even Paneer Tikka and Chicken tikka are very popular dishes made in a tandoor.

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