Tandoor Cooking: Preparation And Benefits
A tandoor oven is essentially a cylindrical cooking unit made of either clay or masonry. It has an in-house heating source and very thick and well-insulated walls. There is a hole at the top from where you can place the food inside for cooking; this also serves the purpose of a chimney. The source of heat is more often than not either an open flame or burning coals and these are powered by placing a gas flame inside the chamber itself. Unlike other methods of cooking, in a tandoor oven, bread is baked by sticking the dough on the warm walls of the oven from the inside.
Since the walls of a tandoor are very thick and the heat source is also placed inside, the heat in a tandoor oven is much higher as compared to that in any other cooking unit- mostly over 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Preparing dishes in a tandoor oven requires you to have a different set of cooking skills as those required to cook in any other way. Earlier tandoors were only used in special restaurants; however, that is no longer the case. You can easily find tandoor oven for sale over the net or in a store near you and reap the benefits of food prepared by this medium.
What are the Benefits of Tandoor Oven Cooking?
- Since the tandoor ovens are mostly made up of clay, the smoky aroma of this clay is very much present in the food cooked in it; thus, giving it a unique taste and flavor.
2. Most preparations to be cooked in a tandoori oven involve marinating and spicing up the food to accentuate its taste. All of the food items such as bread, meat, and vegetables can be cooked easily in the oven by using metal blades via which the food can easily be exposed to direct heat.
3. The biggest benefit of cooking food in a tandoor oven is that minimal to no amount of oil is required to cook food. You have the option to add butter or oil after even after the food has been prepared.
4. This method of food preparation takes a much lesser amount of time as compared to others because of high temperatures and sustained heating technique.
How to Cook food in a Tandoor Oven?
The tandoor oven typically comes with a clay base where you either place wood or charcoal. There is a small opening at the side of the oven from where the air can easily flow in to maintain the temperature inside. Once the fire is kit inside the tandoor, you need to close this door in order to increase the temperature of the oven. After about an hour or so of this, the tandoor oven will be ready for your use.
Next, carefully insert skewers in the meat pieces and place them inside the oven, a little away from the heat source. For baking bread, carefully stick the dough on the inner walls of the hot oven using skewers. You do not need to put any lid over the oven as the opening of the tandoor oven is narrow. Since the side door is closed, you need to keep the opening open to let some amount of air to flow into the oven. After a few minutes of this, safely remove the cooked food from the oven. Ensure that it is well-cooked and looks good.
Tandoor ovens are easily available for sale at stores near you. For healthy and easy food preparations, switch to tandoor cooking!