The smell of freshly baked naan or other flatbreads is frequently the first thing that comes to mind when we think of a tandoor. However, there are many other uses for this antique cylindrical clay oven besides baking bread. It’s an adaptable culinary tool that has been used for centuries in many different cultures, providing a special method to make a broad variety of dishes.
While staples cooked in a tandoor include flatbreads like naan, roti, or lavash, the possibilities are truly endless. The famous Tandoori Chicken, marinated in a mixture of yogurt and spices and then roasted to perfection in the intense heat of the clay oven, is one of the most popular tandoor-cooked dishes. The end product is succulent, flavorful chicken that has a seductively smoky char.
Seekh kebab is another well-liked dish prepared in a tandoor. It is composed of minced meat that has been spiced, shaped into skewers, and cooked in the tandoor until it is juicy and aromatic. The tandoor’s intense heat adds a unique smokiness to the kebabs, taking their flavor to new levels.
Tandoors are ideal for cooking fish and prawns, so seafood lovers can also celebrate. Fish cooked in a tandoor preserves its moisture content and takes on a delightful smoky flavor that harmonizes well with its inherent flavor, regardless of whether it is marinated in spices or is simply seasoned with salt and pepper.
Tandoors provide a variety of options for delicious meatless meals, so vegetarians don’t have to feel excluded. Vegetables used in tandoori cooking, like bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms, are expertly marinated and roasted to create a fragrant and flavorful dish that can be served alone or to go well with other tandoori-cooked delicacies.
In the realm of tandoor cooking, the possibilities stretch far beyond just flatbreads. While these clay ovens are renowned for producing perfectly charred and fluffy naan or roti, their culinary repertoire extends to a diverse array of dishes. From succulent kebabs infused with aromatic spices to tender marinated meats like tandoori chicken, the tandoor imparts a unique smoky flavor and tender texture that"s hard to replicate. Vegetarians need not feel left out, as vegetables like paneer, bell peppers, and even whole potatoes are transformed into delectable treats when roasted in the tandoor"s intense heat. Beyond savory delights, sweet treats like stuffed fruits or even desserts like kulfi can be lovingly prepared within its clay walls. The tandoor isn"t just a tool for making flatbreads; it"s a vessel for culinary creativity, offering a delicious journey into the heart of traditional Indian cooking.
- Meat dishes
- Shashlik
- Steak
- Chicken wings
- Vegetable dishes with meat
- Vegetable stew with rabbit
- Vegetable-meat kebab
- Samsa
- Samsa with meat and cheese
- Mushroom samosa
- Fish dishes
- Salmon with lemon and dill
- Mackerel with onions and lemon
- Video on the topic
- I DON"T BUY BREAD ANYMORE! UZBEK FLATBREAD LIKE FROM TANDOOR! A lifetime to live – a lifetime to learn.
- Handmade tandoor bread
- Flatbreads in tandoor
- Crispy Flatbreads in Tandyr with Juicy Lamb and Vegetables! Ideal combination
- 4 FLOORS OF FLAVOR IN A TANDOOR
- Tandyr and Meat | Tandyr-Kebab Tender, juicy, flavorful | Theory and practice | Stalik Khankishiev
Meat dishes
Of course, shashlik and steak are the most popular tandoor dishes. These recipes are incredibly easy to make, but there are a few tricks you should know to achieve a truly distinctive flavor.
Shashlik
The meat is divided into portions and marinated for a minimum of five hours. It is advised to add different acids, such as vinegar, apple puree, kiwis, and lemon slices, to soften the meat fibers. An excellent kefir and mineral-rich, highly carbonated water marinade recipe. To taste, spices are added.
After lighting the tandoor, the coals are given enough time to burn thoroughly. Close the under-blow, insert the kebabs onto skewers, secure them vertically, and cover with the top lid once the hearth is no longer visibly heated and the wood has turned to smoldering coals.
Check the dish’s level of readiness after 10 to 15 minutes. It is advised to open the top lid and blowhole to their maximum three to five minutes before cooking in order to increase the rate at which the coals burn and achieve a golden-browned crust.
Steak
A classic steak is made with beef that has been cut to a thickness of 1-2 cm. However, you can substitute pork for turkey or chicken fillets.
A rag is used to remove excess moisture from prepared meat. The under-blower is left slightly open, allowing the tandyr to burn completely. The meat is placed on the grate that is installed in the oven’s upper compartment once the coals have turned completely black. Put on a lid, shut off the underbelly, and cook for two to three minutes on each side.
The meat is placed on a platter, seasoned with salt and spices, covered with foil, and allowed to stand for five to seven minutes after it is done. The steak will become tender during this time because enough juice will be released. Garnish the dish with the vegetables and serve it with red and white sauces.
Chicken wings
Every picnic should include chicken wings. They are adored for their easy preparation, delightfully tender flavor, and maximum juiciness—all of which are present in most meat varieties.
After giving chicken wings a thorough wash under running water, marinate them in your preferred marinade, adding salt and spices to taste. After letting it stand for one to two hours, bake it on a rack.
Since baking this kind of food doesn’t need for high temperatures, wood chips are typically used as an ignition source. After the fire has been extinguished for 15 to 20 minutes, close the blowhole entirely, set the wings on the grate, and shut the top lid.
Grill each side for three to five minutes. After cooking, it’s advised to keep the wings covered with foil for three to five minutes to ensure maximum juiciness. If there is no crust, the dietary version of the dish is baked in foil. Wings: cut into two to three pieces; cover with foil and bake as before.
Serve the dish with vegetable salads, greens, and a variety of sauces. Additionally delicious when paired with bell pepper, zucchini, eggplant, asparagus, and tomato that have all been cooked in a tandoor oven.
Vegetable dishes with meat
Vegetables and meat make a delicious and healthful combination. Meat fibers are rapidly assimilated thanks to fibers and beneficial substances, which doesn’t aggravate the digestive process.
Vegetable stew with rabbit
Arrange the foil-wrapped rabbit parts on the grate inside the ready-made tandoor. Bake for ten minutes with the top lid and under-blower closed. Allow the meat to cool before seasoning it with salt, ground pepper, and a few thyme sprigs.
Prepare the vegetables while the meat cools. After removing the skin, the eggplant is cut into large cubes. After being free of seeds, peppers are sliced into half-rings. Slices of onion are cut. Fill a roasting pan or cast-iron cauldron with 0.5 cup vegetable oil, then submerge it in the oven. Add one head of finely chopped garlic and one onion to the oil. Add the peppers, tomatoes, and eggplants after one minute of cooking. Dice the potatoes into large cubes while the vegetables are cooking. Add potatoes to the frying vegetables after two to three minutes. Cook for a further two minutes.
Take the rabbit meat and shred it into medium-sized pieces before adding it to the cauldron. After thoroughly mixing everything, add two cups of water or meat broth so that the water is one centimeter above the vegetables’ level.
You can also add pearl groats or rice if you’d like. In this manner, the meal will have more calories and nutrients. In the dietary version, the amount of vegetable oil is cut in half and potatoes are not included.
The tandoor lid is closed for twenty to twenty-five minutes after the water is added to the vegetables. The dish should only be stirred once during this time. When cooking, add more and more spices. Garnish with finely chopped dill and parsley.
Vegetable-meat kebab
The meat (ideally finely chopped chicken breast) is marinated in your preferred method and allowed to stand in the cold for approximately one hour. Get the veggies ready:
- eggplants are cut into large rings 2 cm thick;
- bell peppers are cut into halves, removing the seeds;
- Cut tomatoes into halves;
- Cut the mushrooms into quarters.
Thread one piece of meat, one vegetable, and one mushroom onto a skewer, alternating between the ingredients you have chosen. Once the skewer is fully threaded, moisten the vegetables generously with marinade juice from the meat using a pastry brush.
The tandoor’s wood ought to burn cleanly until it turns into smoldering coals. After skewering the ingredients, cover the oven with the top lid and blow out the underblower for ten minutes. The dish comes with croutons and garlic sauce on the side.
Samsa
A traditional dish meant to be baked in one of these ovens is samosa. Though there are many recipes, these are the easiest and most widely used.
Samsa with meat and cheese
One cup of extremely cold water, one teaspoon of salt, and three hundred grams of flour are needed to make the dough. The flour is spread out on the table in the shape of a slide, with a small depression created in the center for the addition of gradually small amounts of cold water and salt. After kneading the dough, add 100 g of melted butter, margarine, or kurdy fat. After stirring to a uniform consistency, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for one hour.
You will need 100g of hard salted cheese and 300g of minced beef and pork for the stuffing. Add 150 g of finely chopped onion and salt and pepper to taste in the stuffing.
The dough is rolled out extremely thin to form a big pancake after it has sufficiently cooled. Next, slice it into strips that are 10-15 cm long and 7–10 cm wide. The prepared minced meat is arranged close to the strip’s edge and then wrapped around the corner to create the triangle that will eventually form. Up until the strip’s conclusion, keep doing this manipulation.
The samsa’s top is liberally topped with black sesame seeds and a mixture of egg yolk and salt. The dough is lightly moistened with water before the samsa is fixed to the clay wall of the prepared tandoor. Bake the samsa for three to five minutes.
Mushroom samosa
The dough is made in the same manner, and the stuffing is made with minced mushrooms. To accomplish this, remove the mushrooms’ skins and grind them using a meat grinder. Sauté onions and mushrooms for ten to fifteen minutes in butter. It should cool down completely before adding the stuffing to the dough.
Samsa can be shaped into regular flatbreads as well as triangles. To accomplish this, roll out a pancake about 5 to 8 cm in diameter, place the filling in the middle, then gently gather the edges and press them down against the base to form a belyash.
Bake for two to three minutes in a hot tandoor. You can use the grate that is installed in the neck of the oven as well as the oven wall as a roasting surface.
Fish dishes
Tandyr produces succulent fish as well as succulent meat. Mackerel and salmon are particularly tasty.
Salmon with lemon and dill
The salmon steak is topped with two slices of lemon and a sprig of dill after being rubbed with salt and ground pepper. Place the steak on the grill for eight minutes after wrapping it in foil. You must allow the fish to stand in the foil for three minutes after removing it from the oven.
Served with fresh vegetables, boiled potatoes, and white sauce. Grilled asparagus pairs nicely with this dish as well. Fish can be cooked without foil if preferred; you just need to flip it multiple times to keep it from burning.
Mackerel with onions and lemon
The head and internal organs of the carcass are cleaned, and the bitter-causing black film is carefully removed. After slicing two large onions into half-rings and dipping them in one teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, stuff the fish with the mixture.
As desired, generously season with coarse salt and spices. Slices of lemon are inserted into shallow incisions made on the side of the carcass. After wrapping the fish in foil, place it on the grill for 15 minutes at the tandoor.
An alternative method of cooking entails skewering the carcass and roasting it in the oven without the use of foil. The fish retains its juicy interior while acquiring a distinctive crust on the outside.
Remember that mackerel has a high fat content, so serve it with fresh vegetables as a garnish.
You can also marinate the fish in any mayonnaise-based marinade, adding your own favorite spices, to avoid over-drying it.
Tandoori chicken | Tandoori fish |
Tandoori paneer (Indian cheese) | Tandoori vegetables |
Beyond its conventional use for baking flatbreads, a tandoor’s culinary potential reveals a world of varied flavors and dishes. Tandoori cuisine offers a distinct cooking technique that perfectly tenderizes ingredients and adds subtle smoke flavor to everything from juicy meats to colorful veggies.
The famous tandoori chicken is among the most popular foods made in a tandoor. This chicken is marinated in a mixture of yogurt and spices and cooked at high temperatures, giving it a crispy, charred outside and juicy, meat. The chicken gains a unique smokiness from the tandoor that enhances its flavor profile.
Vegans and vegetarians don’t have to feel excluded because the tandoor has a wide variety of dishes to tempt their palates. The intense heat of the tandoor works its magic on ingredients, from paneer tikka to tandoori vegetables, adding a delightful char and smoky essence that enhances their natural flavors.
Foodies who enjoy seafood should also celebrate, since the tandoor is a fantastic cooking tool for fish and shellfish. A distinctive twist to seafood dishes, the tandoor adds a bold yet subtle depth of flavour, whether it’s salmon tikka or tandoori prawns.
Discovering the tandoor’s versatility opens up a world of culinary possibilities and lets chefs try out various ingredients and methods. The tandoor is a multipurpose and essential kitchen tool, perfect for any occasion, be it a backyard BBQ or a craving for real Indian food.