Curry Recipes Online
Beginners Guide => Hints, Tips, Methods and so on.. => Cooking Equipment => Topic started by: Invisible Mike on August 22, 2016, 01:45 PM
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The missus and I went on a bit of a road trip to deepest Kent yesterday to pick up my new toy. A portable propane tandoor which I got off eBay for ?60. Not a bad buy I thought but I think it needs a little work doing to it before use.
The main problem is it is a little rusty, notably on the inside where it is fine and powdery - not good for sticking naans to!
I'm thinking (unless there is something more suitable?) of buying some fire clay as used in homemade pizza ovens and lining the inside with it - to maybe 1/2" - 1" thickness. Hopefully this will also increase its heat retention properties and thus save on gas. Not sure whether I need to prime the surface in any way to form a 'key' for the clay to stick to?
I'm just wondering, do I need to put clay balls in the bottom of it or even charcoal for that fabled smokey flavour?
I know there's one or two people on here who have refurbished tandoors. Any hints and tips would be gratefully received. ;)
MM
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MM,
Wet and Dry and elbow grease and get it cleaned up.
If it was supposed to have a clay lining it would have been made with it.
If the burner can be easily removed, take it out and fill it with lump wood
and get the fire going to try it out.
Must admit never seen that type, but Gav bought a new metal one which works.
Interesting
cheers Chewy
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The burner is welded on underneath. Cheers I'll get the sandpaper on it and see what it comes up like.
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Just had the wire brush drill attachment on the tandoor. Cleaned 99% of the rust off pretty well will see if the rest burns off when my gas bottle arrives.
I'm going to be up near Uncle's this afternoon so will pop in and grab some proper skewers and a gaddi. - And see if I can get a jar of Pataks kebab paste so I can have a session Friday night. :)
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This looks like a good buy, especially during a UK heatwave. Good luck with your find.
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I'm just wondering, do I need to put clay balls in the bottom of it or even charcoal for that fabled smokey flavour?
I know there's one or two people on here who have refurbished tandoors. Any hints and tips would be gratefully received. ;)
I'm 'refurbishing' a very similar tandoor oven which I have. Yours looks like the deluxe model because mine lacks the gauze/grille wire around the sides. It's an ingenious basic design (from Pakistan) and gets incredibly hot. My early trials suggest it will cook naan bread and tikkas on skewers to perfection. The worst problem is the very yellow flame and resultant soot produced, probably coasting the food to produce a 'smokey flavour'. Cancerous? I modified the inlets on mine to increase the air flow to the burners. It made the flame more blue and with less soot but work is on-going before I'm happy to declare it usable.
There's no way I would add a clay lining. The metal lining gets so hot, I think the last thing you need is heat retention. I;m more interested in cooling it down a bit, so the base of naan breads look right,
I added lava rocks to a tray in the bottom of mine, although I;m not sure what the purpose of clay or lava is, Maybe it's heat dispersal and I also hoped the rocks would pick up soot rather than depositing it on the food.
It's almost a year since your opening post. Have you made any further progress?
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Hi George I would be tempted to line the inside with fire clay in some otherwise I would never be 100% happy but that's just me....Food just won't taste the same without it...Clay is essential for the TA flavour but that's just in my opinion ...Lava rocks are fine but I prefer to use barbeque coals in my home made tandoor, taste so much better..The tandoor looks the biz and a steal at the price. I wish I'd have seen it first......
BB1
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BB1 - thank you for your suggestions, which I will experiment with, I have now fitted a new central burner to my tandoor oven as seen in the attached image. It produces a much healthier looking flame than the awful yellow, sooty flame of the original, wholly inadequate burner ring. I removed the original ring with an angle grinder and then cut out part of the bottom of the oven with tin snips. I should add that it's wholly thanks to you that I bought the new burner ring on amazon in the USA. There was no request for duty or VAT so maybe it's included in amazon's handling fee,.
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When I cook naans in my tandoor
I heat it for an hour, then turn the flames down low
Otherwise the flames burn the naans before they are cooked through
I also dot the "sticking"side with water to help it grip
The exposed side , to the flame, is baisted in oil
I get good results but it's taken a very long time to get right
I normally cook about 10 at a time
The other big problem I sorted was the naans drying out or flattening
You can't stack them in a pile
the bubbles get flattened and it ruins them
They need to "set"spread out
Also they dry out
So as soon as possible they need to go in a bag or container
The takeaways round here use foil bags
I've never been able to source them, but they are obviously ideal
Hope you have fun
Love cooking them
I use the "Pacman"recipe still
I tried others, but "Pacman"is my favourite when using the tandoor
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The takeaways round here use foil bags
I've never been able to source them, but they are obviously ideal
Maybe here (https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=foil-lined+takeaway+bags+naan), Haldi.
** Phil.
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Haldi - many thanks for listing your findings, I assume your tandoor is gas-powered if you can turn it down, If so, do you think you may miss out on any flavour or other benefits by not using charcoal?
I tried charcoal in my oven last night and the results in terms of heat were a joke. The top cover only reached 120c whereas with gas I recorded 400c.. I concede the entire surface area of the oven would probably need to be covered with charcoal but I still doubt if it would be as hot or controllable as gas, My next test will be a hybrid, with gas used to provide heat and a small area of charcoal and/or wood used to provide 'flavour' The manufacturers of the lava rock I use say it provides improved barbecue flavour, Really? I'm not persuaded..
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The manufacturers of the lava rock I use say it provides improved barbecue flavour, Really? I'm not persuaded ...
Well, there was a very successful restaurant just off Baker Street called the Asuka, where each table had its own asuka-stone on which customers could grill their own food ... OK, gimmicks are often successful at first, but this restaurant lasted quite a while before folding ...
** Phil.
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That's great you've bought the burner George ....I absolutely love mine and becoming a bit of an addict..I use it most nights wether it's Chinese or Indian....A bit of practice and you'll be turning authentic Chinese and Indian...Wok hei in both departments....I've watched countless wok tutorials on youtube which has helped me enormously...Let me know how you get on
BB1
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The manufacturers of the lava rock I use say it provides improved barbecue flavour, Really? I'm not persuaded..
I'm guessing that the barbeque flavour would be as a result of the rocks, over time, becoming "seasoned" with the various emissions from the food being cooked, oil splatters and such like. It's difficult to imagine such inert objects providing a barbeque flavour as they stand.
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SS - good points. I also wondered if the claim is based on the lava rocks providing a barrier between gas flames, and the food, so the food doesn't run a risk of getting burned, or in the case of my early tests - getting coated in soot because the flames were too yellow. I agree with you 100% there's no way the rocks can directly provide flavour.
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Haldi - many thanks for listing your findings, I assume your tandoor is gas-powered if you can turn it down, If so, do you think you may miss out on any flavour or other benefits by not using charcoal?
I tried charcoal in my oven last night and the results in terms of heat were a joke. The top cover only reached 120c whereas with gas I recorded 400c.. I concede the entire surface area of the oven would probably need to be covered with charcoal but I still doubt if it would be as hot or controllable as gas, My next test will be a hybrid, with gas used to provide heat and a small area of charcoal and/or wood used to provide 'flavour' The manufacturers of the lava rock I use say it provides improved barbecue flavour, Really? I'm not persuaded..
Yes I have a gas tandoor
the gas ring at the bottom of the tandoor cannot be direct heat to the naans or tikka. It will burn them. (think you know that anyhow)
The heat always has to be diffused
You need a metal basket/container above the flames
In my container I use lava rocks which heat up, along with the tandoor walls.
I have never seen a takeaway use charcoal, and I have been visiting takeaways for about 12 years now.
If you enjoy what current takeaways produce, then I would suggest that you don't need charcoal
The smokey flavour of the tikka, comes from the marinade and chicken juices dripping over the heated lava rocks, and producing an aromatic smoke
And if you've got a good marinade, it's an incredible aroma, even after only five minutes of cooking.
Several of the takeaways cook a large portion of the next days tikka when the tandoor has been turned off, towards the end of the evening.
It gets ridiculously hot, and takes hours to cool down
But if they run out during the evening, and get a tikka/tandoori order, they cook with the flame still on
I reckon gas has to be cheaper than coals
[/quote]The takeaways round here use foil bags
I've never been able to source them, but they are obviously ideal
Maybe here (https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=foil-lined+takeaway+bags+naan), Haldi.
** Phil.
thanks Phil, might get some of those
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My favourite local 'indian' is Nepalese - Jai Kathmandu in Palatine Road, Northenden Manchester. Their tandoor is charcoal lit and has never gone out in 25 years. They just load it with charcoal every night before they leave.
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My favourite local 'indian' is Nepalese - Jai Kathmandu in Palatine Road, Northenden Manchester. Their tandoor is charcoal lit and has never gone out in 25 years. They just load it with charcoal every night before they leave.
I would love to try food cooked in a charcoal tandoor
But there's nowhere round here
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The takeaways round here use foil bags
I've never been able to source them, but they are obviously ideal
Maybe here (https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=foil-lined+takeaway+bags+naan), Haldi.
** Phil.
I bought 50 of those foil bags
absolutely brilliant
Fold the naan in half, with the bubble side facing out, and put them in the bag
The naans stay lovely and soft
and to my mind, improve generally in flavour too
All the butter spread on top gets absorbed into the naan
You can't see it anymore, but boy, does it taste nice!
Anyone who makes naans should try these
Thanks again Phil!
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BB1 - thank you for your suggestions, which I will experiment with, I have now fitted a new central burner to my tandoor oven as seen in the attached image. It produces a much healthier looking flame than the awful yellow, sooty flame of the original, wholly inadequate burner ring. I removed the original ring with an angle grinder and then cut out part of the bottom of the oven with tin snips. I should add that it's wholly thanks to you that I bought the new burner ring on amazon in the USA. There was no request for duty or VAT so maybe it's included in amazon's handling fee,.
Very nice, I am looking to fit a burner ring to my clay pot tandoor.
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I knew a few members had these Pakistani steel tandoor. Do you still have yours George? When I used mine the other day I found it has started to rust out in the bottom and your solution might be a better option than trying to repair it because the original burners are very primitive as you know. Did yours have the double ring burner with the outer one heating in between the walls?
I have no trouble with temperature using charcoal as I just keep the gas on as well and adjust as desired.