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Tandoor

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Clay pots and assembly
Charcoal-fired stainless-steel tandoor, with ash tray and thermometer

A tandoor (Sanskrit: कन्दु,[1] Arabic: tanūr, Persian: تنور, Template:Lang-tr, Template:Lang-ur, Armenian: Թոնիր, Azerbaijani: təndir, Hindi: तन्दूर, Template:Lang-bn, Georgian: თონე, Punjabi: ਤੰਦੂਰ, Template:Lang-ug, Chinese: 馕坑) is a cylindrical clay or metal oven used in cooking and baking. The tandoor is used for cooking in Southern, Central and Western Asia,[2] as well as in the Caucasus.[3]

The heat for a tandoor was traditionally generated by a charcoal or wood fire, burning within the tandoor itself, thus 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.[3] Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 480 °C (900 °F), and it is common for tandoor ovens to remain lit for long periods to maintain the high cooking temperature. The tandoor design is something of a transitional form between a makeshift earth oven and the horizontal-plan masonry oven.

History

Tandoor was originated in Ancient India and it's been used there for more than 5000 years.[4]. 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 on the Makran coast, including the mound site of Balakot, Pakistan. The world tandoor is the corruption of the original Sanskrit word Kund meaning a large bowl.[5] The word tandoor is used in various languages like Dari words tandūr and tannūr; these are derived from very similar terms, viz. Persian tanūr (تنور), Armenian t’onir (Թոնիր), Arabic tannūr (تنّور), Hebrew (תנור) e.g. in Leviticus 2:4[6] Turkish tandır, Uzbek tandir, Azeri təndir and Kurdish tendûr. However, according to Dehkhoda Persian Dictionary, the word originates from Akkadian tinûru "tin" means mud and nuro/nura means fire, and is mentioned as early as in the Akkadian Epic of Gilgames (as reflexed by Avestan tanûra and Pahlavi tanûr). As such, tandoor may have originated from Semitic. In Sanskrit, the tandoor was referred to as kandu.

Tandoor cooked dishes

Chicken wings, onions and potato slices with pork fat in between roasted in tonir in Armenia.

Flatbread

A tandoor may be used to bake many different types of flatbread. Some of the most common are Tandoori Roti, Tandoori Naan, Tandoori Laccha Paratha, Missi Roti, and Tandoori Kulcha.

Peshawari Seekh

Roasted Cashews, corn and cottage cheese paste marinated in spiced thick cream grilled in Tandoor.

Achaari Khumb ke Soole

Mushrooms marinated in pickled yoghurt and jodhpuri spices grilled in Tandoor.

Baluchi Aloo

Potatoes stuffed with cottage cheese, vegetables and cashew nuts, roasted in Tandoor.

Tandoori chicken

File:Dmitry Medvedev Azerbaijani tandoor.JPG
Dmitry Medvedev has tasted the ancient Baku-hot Tendir Chorek

Tandoori chicken is a roasted chicken delicacy that originated in Punjab region of India and Pakistan.[7] In India, tandoori cooking was traditionally associated with Punjab[8] as Punjabis embraced the tandoor on a regional level[9] and became popular in the mainstream after the 1947 partition when Punjabis resettled in places such as Delhi.[2] In rural Punjab, it was common to have communal tandoors.[10] Some villages[11] still have a communal tandoor which was a common sight prior to 1947.[12]

The chicken is marinated in yogurt marinade seasoned with garam masala, garlic, ginger, cumin, cayenne pepper, and other spices depending on the recipe. In hot versions of the dish, cayenne, red chili powder, or other spices give the typical red color; in milder versions, food coloring is used.[13] Turmeric produces a yellow-orange color. It is traditionally cooked at high temperatures in an earthen oven (i.e. tandoor), but can also be prepared on a traditional grill.

Chicken tikka

Chicken tikka (Template:Lang-ur; Hindi: मुर्ग़ टिक्का; murgh tikka) is a dish from Mughlai cuisine[14][15] made by grilling small pieces of chicken which have been marinated in spices and yogurt. It is traditionally cooked on skewers in a tandoor and is usually boneless. It is normally served and eaten with a green coriander chutney, or used in preparing the curry chicken tikka masala.

Kalmi kabab

Kalmi kabab, a popular snack in South Asian cuisine, is made by marinating chicken drumsticks and placing them in a tandoor. Various freshly ground spices are added to the yogurt to form a marinade for the chicken. Traditionally, the marinaded chicken is given 12 hours at the least. When prepared, the drumsticks are usually garnished with mint leaves and served with laccha (finely sliced half moons, with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt) onions.

Coal fired M.S Drum Tandoor

Samosa

Filled and cut samosa ready to be baked in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan

Samosa is a stuffed snack consisting of a fried or baked triangular, semilunar or tetrahedral pastry shell with a savory filling, which may include spiced potatoes, onions, peas, coriander, and lentils, or ground lamb or chicken. The size and shape of a samosa, as well as the consistency of the pastry used, can vary considerably. In some regions of Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan) samosas are typically baked in a tandoor, while they are usually fried elsewhere.

See also

Bibliography

  • Curry Club Tandoori and Tikka Dishes, Piatkus, London — ISBN 0-7499-1283-9 (1993)
  • Curry Club 100 Favourite Tandoori Recipes, Piatkus, London — ISBN 07499149 & ISBN 0-7499-1741-5 (1995)
  • India: Food & Cooking, New Holland, London — ISBN 978-1-84537-619-2 (2007)

References

  1. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=kibIQBCGmmwC&pg=PA383&lpg=PA383&dq=kandu+sanskrit+manjit+gill&source=bl&ots=RDMQVkzU4E&sig=SizuH_I8mEyDb-sn0P8b-Ti1las&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TId6UrC8I86EygHfxIDQDQ&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=kandu%20sanskrit%20manjit%20gill&f=false
  2. ^ a b Raichlen, Steven (2011-05-10). "A Tandoor Oven Brings India's Heat to the Backyard". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b Raichlen, Steven (2011-05-10). "A Tandoori Oven brings India's heat to the backyard". New York Times. Retrieved 5/9/11. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.ror.isrj.net/uploadeddata/397.pdf
  5. ^ http://tandoorexpress.ca/our-story.html
  6. ^ Leviticus 2:4
  7. ^ "Metro Plus Delhi / Food : A plateful of grain". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 2008-11-24. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  8. ^ [1] The Rough Guide to Rajasthan, Delhi and Agra By Daniel Jacobs, Gavin Thomas
  9. ^ http://www.indiacurry.com/faqhistory/mughalcuisine.htm
  10. ^ Alop Ho Reha Punjabi Virsa Harkesh Singh Kehal
  11. ^ Pind Diyan Gallian PTC Channel - Bilga (Jalandhar) has a communal Tandoor also known as tadoor in Punjabi
  12. ^ http://www.shvoong.com/medicine-and-health/nutrition/1866706-specialities-punjabi-cuisine/
  13. ^ For instance, see the recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery pp66-69
  14. ^ http://www.indianfoodforever.com/non-veg/chicken/chicken-tikka.html
  15. ^ http://www.khanakhazana.com/recipes/view.aspx?id=1066