Topic: Home Tandoor Tips

[mickdabass]

Anyone got any good tips for getting the best out of a charcoal fired home Tandoor ?http://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalog/Tandoor-Oven.html

Regards
Mick

[JerryM]

mickdabass,

clearly depends on deepness of pocket.

my gas bbq is not a bad compromise and i cook something like 70% of tikka on it. i also have chiminea which i use in the summer (30%) and it's easy to pick out the chiminea as producing the best result. would i buy a chimy just for tikka if i had gas bbq - No.

i think Haldi is the only person who can really answer your question. UB is also a candidate.

[mickdabass]

It was my birthday the other day and my wife bought me a tandoor from spicesofindia. It arrived yesterday so rather excitedly I started to marinate some chicken tikka (blade2112). Didnt get any instructions with it but i know from their website that it will need using 4 or 5 times before i am able to cook any naans. I fired it up at 12.30 and gave it 3 hours to heat up. In that time i used about 4 kg charcoal. While i was waiting, i
decided to make some CA's Sheek kebabsI slid the chicken onto the skewers and then put a piece of lemon on last to stop the chicken slipping down the skewer.The Chicken was cooked in about 15 minutes. Not convinced the tandoor was up to correct temp but still it was the tastiest and most succulent  I have tasted by far.The CA kebabs were a different story. Most of them parted company with the skewers.
I think the amount of binding ingredients needs increasing slightly but to be fair I used 1 Kg of mince instead of the 800g specified. I upped all the ingredients a bit to offset that but stuck to 1 egg as per CA's recipe. Going to have another go at them today and try upping the flour a bit and using 2 eggs - that is unless anyone has some better ideas?
Regards
Mick

[Peripatetic Phil]

I think you are quite right in identifying the need for additional binder (egg) to compensate for the difference between 800g and 1000g of meat, but possibly the dimensions of the skewers is also key : are yours nice large wide ones, as used in kebab shops, or the rather easier-to-obtain thin narrow ones ?

** Phil.

[Ramirez]

You lucky so-and-so! Can we have some pics?  ;D

[Cory Ander]

I upped all the ingredients a bit to offset that but stuck to 1 egg as per CA's recipe. Going to have another go at them today and try upping the flour a bit and using 2 eggs - that is unless anyone has some better ideas?
Regards
Mick

Hi Mick,

You might rather try adding some breadcrumbs (e.g. as in Ray's kebab recipe).  I haven't tried this yet, but I can believe that will help "stiffen" the mixture and make it adhere better (perhaps a better solution than adding more eggs and flour?)

[Unclebuck]

Hi Mick, lucky you your new tandoor looks sweeeeeet!!
as for getting kemma to stick i find flat skewers work better,

you will need your oven at max temp for a few hours for naan cooking! have fun and take us some pic's

you need to source some seasoned wood and 'restaurant' charcoal it burns hotter and longer then the homebase stuff.



Cheers UB.

[curryhell]

Would definitely like to see some pics of this new addition in action.  Glad to hear the tikka turned out  very well.  Sure you'll bottom out the problem with the sheeks and have equally superb results.  I am toying with the idea of treating myself to a nice bit of kit like this as i have some nice skewers that need a tandoor to be used in ;D.  And it's my birthday soon.  What better excuse does one need for a little treat?   As for the commercial "restaurant" charcoal, where can one purchase this?

[Peripatetic Phil]

As for the commercial "restaurant" charcoal, where can one purchase this?

Restaurant Charcoal 12kg

[Panpot]

Mick, what can I say, other than good for you. Please keep us informed of your progress with it and any photos will be genuinely appreciated by all of us. I can't way to hear of your results with Nans. UB was my hero when he built his and have often wondered if we can recreate good enough results on home ovens. Will invest in one come the summer if you can vouch for it. The chicken sounds great. Good luck with it. PP