Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

I recently attended a master class on Indian cuisine. Cooked, ate, drank, and talked a lot. Still, the pleasure of eating is largely determined by good company.

But today I want to talk not about the food, and the device for cooking. Tandoor or tandoor, as it is called in India, is popular in many Asian countries. And I finally managed it to bake his first naan (so-called Indian wheat tortilla), and of torment chef questions about the structure, temperature and cooking speed in this miracle oven.

Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

Returning to India

According to some reports tandoor it appeared in India as early as 3000 BC. e. Initially, it was a very small oven smeared with dirt from the side door. However, the popularity of the furnace grew, and soon, thanks to Jahangir, the Mughal emperor, there was a portable tandoor.

Tandoor India traditionally installed in the courtyard of the house, and the most common were earthen or yamnye, tandoori. In India, the first tandoor, built in the kitchen of the restaurant, appeared only in 1948 in a restaurant Moti Mahal in Delhi. And since then, every self-respecting Indian restaurant has built tandoor, because it is difficult to imagine the most famous Indian dishes without tandoor - even in their title the word "Tandoori" is necessarily present. Therefore, coming to an Indian restaurant with all you can ask for validity to all the dishes, the title of which the term "tandoori" applied, were prepared in the tandoor.

Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

What is this miracle oven?

The most ancient earthen tandoor was built in one of two ways. In the first method excavated shallow pit depth of about 50 cm and a diameter of 35 cm and obkladyvali its entire circumference thick clay bricks, and below two holes made for a better combustion. In the second case we took already ready tandoor in the form of vases and buried it in the ground so that the top part above the level of the pit by 4 cm. In addition, the bottom made a special air blower, which brings to the surface. So if you decide to get a tandoori at home, then all you need is a good heat-resistant bricks and a shovel. But the most important thing - it's not as simple to build a furnace, and the way in which it is a versatile tool. In the tandoor can bake and smoke any meat, vegetables, bread, bake, cook pilaf, samsa. And since the temperature in it can reach up to 500 degrees, the cooking time sometimes takes a few minutes.

Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

The secret tandoor - is that cooking does not take place on an open fire, and due to the powerful uniform heat transfer walls, which are heated open fire. After burning firewood tandoor inner wall heated to a temperature of 250-400 degrees, and retain heat for about 4 hours due to strong thermal insulation, which allows for rapid and uniform toasting, and also to preserve the vitamins and minerals, juiciness and flavor.

Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

Restaurants Tandoori usually located either in the kitchen of the restaurant, or in a separate room. In some restaurants Tandoori can be seen through the glass walls, and at the same time and watch your meal being prepared. These built-in tandoor, usually electrical, temperature, and therefore they do not exceed 300 degrees, which, to be honest, I was a little disappointed. But on the other hand, if the temperature is 100-200 degrees above the local people without being heat resistant, as Indians, have had to flee from the restaurant.

How to bake the naan?

To bake the naan, the tandoor is heated for several hours. Then walls tandoor sprayed with salt water to a ready naan easily separated and with rapid speeds (round pads of cotton) to throw it literally wall tandoor. This procedure requires a special skill: you must stick the cake is not only fast, but also very careful not to disturb its shape. Red-hot walls again generously sprinkled with water. Due to the high humidity and temperature, naan baked through very quickly (within 4-8 minutes) and becomes a unique aroma and taste. After removing it from the oven using a special blade and poker.

Tandoor - hot heart of India - video recipes at home

My first attempt to stick to the walls of the tandoor naan was unsuccessful. Frankly, it was scary to stick arm and shoulder inward strongly fiery furnace. Somehow recalls tale of Ivanushka, which Baba Yaga wanted to roast in the oven. But thanks to the patience and guidance of the chef, the second attempt was successful. After 3 minutes, I personally enjoyed the cooked naan.

Now it remains only to buy your home, build your own tandoor and enjoy the best of Indian cuisine right in their backyard!