Curry Recipes Online
Beginners Guide => Hints, Tips, Methods and so on.. => Cooking Equipment => Topic started by: Panpot on June 12, 2006, 04:48 PM
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Has anyone had any experience of using a domestic tandor just like Bruce Edwards does in his excellent articles found in these pages.
can you buy them and how much, where from and sre they easy to install and use
Panpot
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Pete has he bought one a while ago but hasn't been on the forum for a while.
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Drawback is they're a bit on the small side, so food is a bit close to the heat , which results in uneven cooking, especially of nan. Also, you must regard these as suitable for outdoor use only, unless you install an industrial-grade extraction system. A better investment would probably be a BBQ grill for meat, and try your hand at the tava method for nan. [With practice you really can make restaurant grade nan and k.nan.
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These may help, panpot:
http://www.tandooriq.co.uk/aboutus/aboutus.html
http://www.barbecue-online.co.uk/barbecue_equipment/bbq_grill_manufacturers/nipoori_charcoal_barbecue_grill.htm
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Here's a well known site set up by a chap named Piers who built a tandoor in his garden:
http://piers.thompson.users.btopenworld.com/index.html
The recipes and other web site content petered out though, a few years back. Although he says a new baby meant he and his wife now have other priorities, I can't help thinking these tandoors might not get very much use and/or live up to initial expectations.
Regards
George
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Thanks guys,
Firgive me but what is the tava method and where do I find out how to do it
Cheers
Panpot
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Thanks guys,
Firgive me but what is the tava method and where do I find out how to do it
Cheers
Panpot
Hi Panpot,
A "Tava" is similar to a very flat frying pan. You should be able to find one in an Asian store. I often use one to cook naans. Arguably, the benefit of the tava is that it simulates the wall of the tandoor oven (i.e. the bit of the oven that the naan is stuck to).
To cook a naan using a tava, you whack the tava onto the gas burner and heat it for several minutes until it's very, very, hot. You then whack the naan bread onto it and cook it, for a minute or so, until brown spots form on the underside of the naan. You can either flip the naan over and finish it off on the tava, or dabble ghee over it and place it under a very hot grill for another minute or so (again, until brown blisters form). Arguably, the grill simulates the centre of the oven.
Alternatively, stick with a very hot grill for both sides of the naan. This works perfectly fine provided you have a good naan dough. Just ensure that the grill is very, very hot.....and watch the naan cook very closely! :P
Hope this helps! :-\
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PS: It's also very noticeable how "authentic" the little burnt bits on the naan taste (provided you haven't crucified them, that is! :P)
....and, I reckon this is the very same effect (i.e. "smokiness") that a curry picks up when using a well seasoned wok/kararhi (.......as all Indian restaurants do). 8)
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PPS: I see Mark J has a picture of his tava here (so to speak! :P) :o
.......http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,700.0.html
......his is a little bigger than mine! :'( :P ;)
.....actually, Mark J's is bl**dy HUGE compared to mine! :o (nice one Mark J! : ;D)
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hi guys try using the method in bruce edwards curry house cookery. i have used it to good results.forgot to buy naan bread so used kd's quick recipe left it to settle for 30mins before cooking. i'm sure if you have a good recipe for your naan then this method will work for you ;). i do have a small cast iron frying pan which like the tava and the cast iron woks hold heat for ages so people use gloves ::)
regards
gary
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I bought a pizza stone. You should be able to pick one up very cheaply at a hardware store, just ask for a stone which is heat resistant and contains no lead (surprisingly some do).. explain what you want to use it for and im sure youll get lots of help.
My stone is 30cm x 30cm and 1.5 cm deep. I heat it up for around 45 mins to an hour on full effect in the middle of the oven, once hot i press out a ball of nan dough and with the help of a wood paddle (you can make your own) I slide the nan onto the stone. give it 2 mins and turn over the nan. I looks like a nan tastes like a nan but isnt quite as good as a tandoori nan.. ive tried the grilled method and tava method and this method stands up very well, it will turn out lighter than a tava nan and less crispy than a grilled one. BTW i always tava my chappatis.
doesnt cost alot for a stone, i think george used a paving slab in his oven?
GL
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PPS: I see Mark J has a picture of his tava here (so to speak! :P) :o
Ooer! ;D
Tavas are great for doing breads, the trick is to get the stupidly hot on a gas ring first before slapping the bread on and sticking it under a throbbingly hot grill. I guess the heat is approaching that of a tandoor when using this method.
Sadly the shop on ebay where I bought mine has gone out of business, and you are right les mine is very large indeed!
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doesnt cost alot for a stone, i think george used a paving slab in his oven?
You have a good memory! I've used the same piece of reasonably thick (bog standard) paving slab for several years and it hasn't yet cracked. That's made of concrete.
I also have a pizza stone (clay?) but I reckon the extra weight and depth of the concrete probably gives extra heat capacity.
At the moment I have a stone (granite?) slab permanenly in the oven (actually two of them, side by side) which I bought cheap at Lidl. They came with a plastic surround and were intended to be placed in a microwave oven to warm up, then to be used to keep food warm at table, like in some restaurants. But I discarded the plastic surrounds and put them in the gas oven. They haven't cracked, either. I'd be amazed if they ever did.
Regards
George
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Ive heard of some pizza ppl buying two stones, one to place under the bread and one on the shelf above, they then get intense heat above and below. Im sure someone could create an oven within an oven, like a box with all sides closed except one. Ironically we are trying to recreate technology that has been around for a few thousand years and is still in use. :)
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Im sure someone could create an oven within an oven, like a box with all sides closed except one.
That sounds like a HearthKit:
http://www.hearthkitchen.com/
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That sure looks good! My idea was simular but with a roof, i think the problems could be getting the heat high enough and even if u can, the average oven probably wont be able to cope (ive already ruined the rubber seals on 2 ovens).
The secret to a good clay oven is the shape, its actually the airflow over the food that creates more heat, italian pizza ovens are domed and the hot air circulates over the food. The shape creates more heat where its needed, a fan oven is a simular.
I suspect the best shape for tikka and breads is the tandoor and cant be improved upon. Seems that you need a strong extraction fan to remove the heat on a home tandoor, the alternative is to built one outside but you would need some kind of cover, a garage or shed to protect the clay from water.
http://www.goldentandoors.com/tandoor-range.htm (http://www.goldentandoors.com/tandoor-range.htm)
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A few months ago I was at a bread-making demonstration, and the man next to me said he had a big green egg. I won't tell you what I thought when he said that.:o
Anyhow, it turns out he meant this:
http://www.biggreenegg.com/bge.htm
and he uses it to make pizzas. Very tandoor-like, I think.
-Mary
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Thanks for this Mary it is weird that I was about to post the following but reads your Big Green egg thing first, bye the way do you know if they are available in the UK?
Tandoor and Cow Dung.
What a title for a new topic but I started this one so its right it stays here. Isn't it interesting that in the western world we have to be all sophisticated in our approach to the simplicity of a tandoor, we need gas and big extraction fans,etc,etc,etc.
Yesterday I got round to watching a Floyd in India programme I recorded on Sky a few weeks ago. On this one he actually visits Tandoori Alley in Madras and buys a Tandoori for a pound made on the premises form mud and coconut fiber by a local woman.
He takes it to someones home and in the garden cooks the most impressive Tandoori chicken via a 4 hour marinade and stuffed peppers and kebabs in the Tandoor.
The tandoor which looks like a tall (2 ft) narrow plantpot has charcoal in the bottom and that is it. He does say that the locals prefer to cook with dried cow dung and later does cook a Rogan Josh with the stuff.
So why all the bother when any of us can do this for ourselves with something from a garden centre or building merchants. I am on the case because if thats how they do it in Madras then Cow Dung omitted and good old charcoal in its place I suspect in my garden with no expensive extractor hastle I Can cook Tandoori everything including perfect nan.
Has anyone else gone down this route and do they know if they can be bought in the UK or indeed has anyone found a suitable vessel from a garden centre or builders merchant. If a pathing stone can go into the oven then I just might be on to something here. Any Comments?
Thanks
Panpot
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A proper tandoor gets hot while it is firing up, stays hot while it is in use, smokes, explodes or cracks if it gets wet, is potentially dangerous (an open fire), and makes a hell of a mess because of the ashes. On top of that, using one for reasons other than necessity isn't earth-friendly (charcoal costs a fortune over here for what it is and has to come from somewhere).
That's why they make gas-fired ones ;)
Yes, you can buy them (tandoors of all types) over here:
eBay seller #1 (http://"http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tandoori-oven_W0QQitemZ160000664000QQihZ006QQcategoryZ53219QQssPageNameZWD7VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem")
eBay seller #2 (http://"http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/indian-tandoori-BBQ-clay-oven-Carter-clay-ovens_W0QQitemZ4470290250QQihZ001QQcategoryZ20723QQssPageNameZWD7VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem")
http://www.tandooriq.co.uk/healthandsafety/healthandsafety.html
http://piers.thompson.users.btopenworld.com/background.html
http://www.barbecue-online.co.uk/acatalog/BBQ_Shop_Nipoori__Charcoal_BBQs_54.html
Found these details elsewhere:
Dowd Tandoori. 020 89044477 (Clay Tandoori ovens).
Tandoori Clay Oven Co Ltd. 020 88962696
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.....and the man next to me said he had a big green egg.....
I've seen these MerryBaker....they look really good! But a little expensive! I'd get one if I could afford one though!
Snowdog......you forgot to mention the great taste that you get from a "proper tandoor" too!
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Hey! I'm not taking anything away from them :)
Just explaining why they have gas-fired ones to panpot. It isn't change for change's sake. Just convenience.
In all countries where they cook on open fires, they probably wouldn't if gas or electric were freely and cheaply available :)
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I'm on the same thoughts as you snowdog,
There must be something at the garden centre that we can buy 2 off, then up turn one of them, and then cut a side hole in the lower one for the air, and a hole in the centre of the top one for the food entrance.
Now that makes sense to me, and if your worried about it exploding when it comes into contact with water, then im sure there are many paints you could apply to the outside of the pot that could resist the extreme tempeture.
Just my 2 pence worth.
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Well, the 'exploding' thing just refers to the fact that anything made of clay, and which is hot, will crack up if it gets wet. Quite dramatically if it is VERY hot. And, of course, not many people are going to install a charcoal tandoor in their house so rain becomes a big issue over here :)
This one only costs ?130:
http://www.barbecue-online.co.uk/acatalog/BBQ_Shop_Nipoori__Charcoal_BBQs_54.html
I quite like this one someone made out of cement. Now that might stand up to the British weather. After all, if few people are going to install a charcoal tandoor inside their house, even fewer will do it if it looks like this :o
http://www.thefarm.org/charities/i4at/surv/tandoor.htm
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Thanks again to everyone who took the time to provide such depth of information especially snowdog.
It all looks much more complicated than what Floyd did with his 1 pound tandoor from tandoori alley in Madras.
If the my good lady can see the vision I might just break out and ship in one of the metal ones since my DIY skills would attract TV programme make over people and absolutely no confidence when it came to using it.
Still the locals in Madras seem to have it easy. What about dried cow dung free and planet friendly?
Cheers
Panpot
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What about dried cow dung free and planet friendly?
The secret taste?
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What about dried cow dung free and planet friendly?
Somehow, I suspect the food standards people might not be too happy about establishments cooking food and handling cow poo in the same room :)
And knowing people over here, it'd probably cost a fiver a bag from the local garage ;)
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Has anyone mentioned adobe ovens, which have long been popular in the Southwest U.S.? Here's a link to a DIY version:
http://www.sunset.com/sunset/Premium/Home/1998/08-Aug/AdobeOven898/AdobeOven.html
I don't see why you couldn't bake naan and tandoori chicken in it, and the horizontal floor would allow you to bake pizzas and loaves of bread.
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Here's another tandoor site although I can't find any prices listed anywhere ???
http://www.indiantandoors.com/
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Here's another tandoor site although I can't find any prices listed anywhere ???
http://www.indiantandoors.com/
I e-mailed them Domi and they don't have an outlet in UK.
Regards
SnS ;D
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An offer especially for you Jethro (it's on your doorstep). Use it with bottled gas - fantastic tandoori BBQ's! ::)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shahi-Clay-Tandoori-oven_W0QQitemZ320222378586QQihZ011QQcategoryZ25370QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
SnS ;D
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An offer especially for you Jethro (it's on your doorstep). Use it with bottled gas - fantastic tandoori BBQ's! ::)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shahi-Clay-Tandoori-oven_W0QQitemZ320222378586QQihZ011QQcategoryZ25370QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
SnS ;D
Nice thought SnS, but not sure if it would work with LPG bottled gas and to run a gas line to the garage where it would have to live would be a tad expensive methinks.
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Thanks SnS ;)
I know they don't have a retail outlet in the UK, but they do state that they'll deliver anywhere in Europe :)
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Nice thought SnS, but not sure if it would work with LPG bottled gas and to run a gas line to the garage where it would have to live would be a tad expensive methinks.
You would need a new gas jet and some piping to convert to lpg
I think that would cost about ?40
If it's full size tandoor (which I think it is) then it's a very good price
Almost half it's new value
But it might be too large for you
Having said that, making naans would be a lot easier
I can't get mine to proper restaurant size
The dough hangs too near the flames