All You Need to Know About Tandoor Ovens

For many years, tandoor ovens have been used all around the world to prepare nearly every type of meal. However, they’re most known for creating those crispy Asian and Indian dishes many have come to love. Unlike traditional ovens, tandoor ovens are actually quite distinct, which is why the team from Zanduco Restaurant Equipment & Supplies has collected an in-depth guide here into what makes them so unique.

If you want to cook delicious food at home or in your commercial kitchen with a tandoor oven, here’s everything you need to know!

What is a Tandoor Oven?

As mentioned above, tandoor ovens are designed and work a little differently from the average commercial kitchen oven or gas range. There are different types of tandoor ovens that range from large, clay ovens installed outdoors to smaller, more compact ones that can easily fit in your kitchen. Although tandoori style cooking is an ancient art, tandoor ovens have become modernized over the years and can even be carried from place to place if necessary.

It doesn’t matter what size or shape your tandoor style oven is, they all operate using the same basic principle. The ovens are fashioned from clay, with an insulating material on the outside often made from mud or concrete (or these days stainless steel). They’re circular and curve inward to concentrate the heat at a single point in the middle of the oven.

In the bottom of the tandoor oven, a fire is built (or gas is used for more modern ovens) that heats the rest of it. However, unlike traditional ovens, tandoor ovens can heat up quickly and up to 900 degrees. But before throwing your ingredients in the oven, the fire is left alone to die down to nothing but coals; this creates a consistent temperature while cooking.

What to Cook in a Tandoor Oven?

There are a variety of dishes that can be cooked with a tandoor oven. For example, once the oven is heated up to a constant temperature bread, like naan bread and other types of thin bread, are placed upon the side of the oven to cook. Since the surface is so hot, they adhere to it and cook very quickly. When cooking meat like beef, chicken, lamb, or other things, it’s attached to long skewers so it can reach right down into the center of the oven where it’s hottest. Meats are also sometimes simply cooked over the mouth of the oven.

One of the things that make tandoor ovens so popular is that once they’ve heated up, they can maintain a steady temperature for hours without the need for additional fuel. This makes them extremely economical.

Some of the most popular tandoori dishes include:

• Kalmi Kababs
• Peshwari Seekh
• Alochi Aloo
• Tandoori Chicken
• Samosas
• Flatbreads (naan, lachcha parathas)

Get Your Tandoor Oven from Zanduco Restaurant Equipment & Supplies!

We carry a variety of different tandoor ovens so you can cook your favorite tandoori meals. Made with a clay pot and using natural gas to cook with, it can easily and quickly reach 900 degrees. Our tandoor ovens also come equipped with a tawa (hot plate), gaddi, clay balls, and a repair kit so you can keep them well-maintained. Additionally, they’re built with casters to allow them to be easily moved throughout your kitchen, making them much more convenient.

Baba Clay 32" x 32" Stainless Steel Tandoor Clay Oven – Natural Gas

In addition to the aforementioned materials, this tandoor oven comes with a repair kit that includes a jar of seasoning in case the clay breaks, as well as additional clay for repairs. It also boasts other features, such as:

• Durable stainless steel construction with an internal handcrafted clay pot
• A front panel thermometer that clearly displays internal temperature
• An internal pot handcrafted out of clay
• An outer box constructed of stainless steel

Contact us today to place your order!

We also carry several additional sizes of tandoor ovens, making it easy to find the perfect fit for your kitchen. For years, Zanduco Restaurant Equipment & Supplies has held a proven reputation when it comes to kitchen equipment and accessories, offering everything from commercial refrigeration equipment, furniture, cooking equipment, and much more.

Request a FREE quote online or contact us by calling 1 (855) ZANDUCO.