Topic: Domestic Tandoors - TandooriQ vs Puri vs Spices of India etc

[sp]

I tried my pizza stone on my old mans gas barbie today - the naans were better but not perfect - they definitely need that charcoal type taste, I didn't manage to get a temperature reading before the stone went very black and split right down the middle in two!

Kind of forced my hand a bit, although to be honest I think I was just trying to find excuses not to buy a tandoor... heart over head type stuff ;D

Eventually my heart won... inspired by jb's pics and impressed by the results shown here I've ordered a Puri SS1 Ultima 

[George]

- they definitely need that charcoal type taste,

I've tasted some superb naans in BIRs but I'd hazard a guess I've never had one cooked over charcoal. it would simply be too messy and impractical for most restaurants. I bet 99% of them use gas.

[Kashmiri Bob]

Very , very tempted.  There is also a gas kit available for the Ultima. Reckon I'd probably use it more with the gas option.  Probably every day in fact.

http://www.thetandoorclayoven.co.uk/Products/Gas-kit-120

Rob 

[chewytikka]

Quite a lot of threads on here worth reading on Tandors and cooking with them.
One that stands out for me is the trials and tribulations of Mickdabass
http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,5351.msg52957.html#msg52957

and Mick Crawfords view on babysitting his Charcoal Tandor and changing to a Gas Fired one.

cheers Chewy

[sp]

Thanks for the info Chewy, it arrived today, can't wait to get it fired up - sad and pathetic I know...  ;D

Impatiently waiting for my heat-resistant gloves and infra-red thermometer to arrive from Amazon

[curryhell]

Enjoy SP and keep us posted on your exploits.  I must admit to being tempted my self now  :

[sp]

That's the "first burn" done (for curing the clay liner) and the walls coated with saltwater solution - apparently helps with naans and rotis sticking.

Can't do any naans until it's been fired 3-4 times or for about 6 hours in normal cooking - got some chicken portions to start with, going to have a crack at seekh kebabs too as I've got some lamb mince in the freezer.

Will take some photos soon.

[jb]

Nice one SP trust me you won't regret it.Remember though practice makes perfect.It took me a while to get the naans right as you can see...all very well cooking them you have to get the darn things out!!!

It actually took me a while to settle on a naan bread recipe I was completely happy with.I actually use this one that was posted a few years ago(allegedly) taken from genuine BIR chef...

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,1942.0.html

You definitely have to leave the dough overnight and it's also important to leave it to come back to room temperature the following day.


I know it's been discussed before on here but I'm pretty sure your average BIR restaurant/takeaway does not use yeast in their dough.The rolled up dough balls seem to hang about in the kitchen for quite some time,if they contained yeast they would simply rise up just too much.

George you have a point a BIR tandoori oven powered solely by charcoal would be impractical,the charcoal coals only last so long and once they've died down the heat has gone.However every BIR kitchen I've seen seem to have a dual gas/charcoal set up for their tandoori ovens.Whenever they use it they regulate the temperature via a gas control but they still have charcoal burning away in the bottom.

[goncalo]

Hmm... so it is believed that BIR chefs knead dough themselves? I would imagine this would be done on a machine for the obvious reasons: reduction of time and effort.

[dave3310]

This rather suspicious user, posted a brief recommendation on the tandoori from the brand Puri. It came across suspicious to me, but he seems to be registered since the creation of time, so it's a bit hard to judge.

http://www.curry-recipes.co.uk/curry/index.php/topic,11954.msg95426.html#msg95426

Thank you for your kind comments and your totally incorrect judgement of character........