Topic: my tandoori oven

[Salvador Dhali]

That tandoori oven does to us curry lovers, what a brand new 50" 3d led tv does to the rest of the male population. I'm not envious one little bit!

W

Nope, nor me. Not even the tiniest but envious...       

You lucky swine!  ;D

[jb]

Hi jb did you have any problem with the clay cracking at all when heating, i ask because of the clay repair you get with the tandoori oven. Really thinking about getting one of these from Spices of India.
Thanks.

No cracking.Apparently they're not fully hardened when they're shipped(hence the wait for naan breads).I had a tiny surface crack on the bottom of mine which disappeared after the first use.I think the clay is a just in case scenario.Even then it's so easy to repair it wouldn't be a problem.I would recommend these things to anyone on the forum,I've just been tucking into the remains of the tandoori chicken and honestly it's superb,as good as any restaurant round here and better than some I go to.The charcoal imparts a wonderful flavour but the thing also cooks perfectly.I'm happy with my tikka/tandoori if the weather's ok on Sunday we could be looking at a mammoth naan bread practice session.

[Peripatetic Phil]

No cracking.Apparently they're not fully hardened when they're shipped(hence the wait for naan breads).I had a tiny surface crack on the bottom of mine which disappeared after the first use.I think the clay is a just in case scenario.Even then it's so easy to repair it wouldn't be a problem.I would recommend these things to anyone on the forum,I've just been tucking into the remains of the tandoori chicken and honestly it's superb,as good as any restaurant round here and better than some I go to.The charcoal imparts a wonderful flavour but the thing also cooks perfectly.I'm happy with my tikka/tandoori if the weather's ok on Sunday we could be looking at a mammoth naan bread practice session.

Oh dear.  For the first time in my life, I am beginning to think I need a tandoor; your message makes me drool just reading it.  Only one problem : I have just bought a chainsaw -- how am I going to convince SWMBO that I need /two/ new toys for my 65th birthday ?!

[ELW]

Well Summer's here(well almost) before I embark on a massive curry feast inspired by the recent lesson I thought I'd give my new oven a try out.On the menu chicken tikka,tandoori chicken and naan bread.



Tandoori chicken goes in.....



Followed by the chicken tikka.....



Oooops one naan bread gone!!



chicken tikka....



Tandoori chicken.....



Ready to eat!!!!



A fantastic bit of curry kit I have to say.The flavour it gave to the food was incredible.Not sure if I've got any hairs left on my arm though,those tandoori chefs make it look so easy,and the thing gets so damn hot.The naan breads went a bit pear shaped(it was my first attempt at them).The mix itself was spot on both in texture and apperance,however by the time I was ready to slap them in it was pitch black in my garden(I'd had a few beers by then).I dropped two in the ashes and the third one was a bit underdone.Never mind,next time I'm sure they'll be perfect.

My tikka now feels like the guitarist who comes on stage after Jimi Hendrix

ELW

[Salvador Dhali]

My tikka now feels like the guitarist who comes on stage after Jimi Hendrix

ELW

 ;D And no one wants to do that. Not even Pete Townshend (about 25 secs in) : Who Will Play First, Monterey Pop, 1967

Looks like I'm going to have to bite the financial bullet and get one of these mothers...

[ELW]

My tikka now feels like the guitarist who comes on stage after Jimi Hendrix

ELW

 ;D And no one wants to do that. Not even Pete Townshend (about 25 secs in) : Who Will Play First, Monterey Pop, 1967

Looks like I'm going to have to bite the financial bullet and get one of these mothers...

;D
Lot's of glum looking tikka makers & guitarists pretending to pleased when the real deal rolls up 

[Unclefrank]

Cheers jb, another if you don't mind, how much charcoal does it use and how long are you able to cook with it?

[jb]

Cheers jb, another if you don't mind, how much charcoal does it use and how long are you able to cook with it?

'My tikka now feels like the guitarist who comes on stage after Jimi Hendrix'

ELW

Boy did that make me chuckle...

Unclefrank not much charcoal at all,couple of handfuls and some firelighters that's it.I brought a 5kg bag from my garage and have not really used much at all.It stays hot for a good hour and a half,maybe more,hard to to tell really,as soon as my food was done I pretty much left it alone.However it was still glowing late last night so I decided to leave it in my garden overnight.

[Unclefrank]

Thanks jb.

[jockomalay]

Re the cracking in Tandoori ovens..

The first time I used mine, . I put in Charcoal briquettes and had it going like a blast furnace..obviously being a man only read the instructions the next day ..The instructions read... Do not use fire briquettes during the first burn and for the first 3 sessions of tandoor
Anyway, next morning after reading the instructions gingerly emptied out the ashes and b()llocks the bottom was all crazed  ... Just about sh1t myself, and had a lump in my throat felt like blubbing , wife not happy!! Spent a miserable morning the  Phew !!! saw the Australian site, so no harm done ;D..http://tandoorliving.com.au/domestic-tandoor-care-maintenance.html.

Been raining here a lot so have only been able to use a couple of times at weekends.  Have had a high casualty rate with the Naan's though as they wouldn't stick, so out of 6 only got three to eat so that worked out at 1/2 naan each.  very nice they were though
I don't think the oven is fully seasoned yet..The site also mentioned that......

" Mix 1 tablespoon of salt into 0.5 litre of luke warm water and wet a sponge or cloth with the salt solution.  Squeeze the excess salt solution from the sponge/cloth and gently wipe the damp sponge/cloth over the wall of the Tandoor.  Rinse the sponge/cloth in the salt solution and repeat until the wall has been fully wiped over.  Do not wet the clay liner too much.  Allow the Tandoor to dry.  After the Tandoor has been fired for a total of 6 hours you will be ready to start cooking naan and roti bread.  This salt solution wipe will assist with the naan and roti bread sticking to the Tandoor wall.  The process can be repeated every now and then as in addition to assisting with naan/roti sticking, it also assists with removing soot that can develop over time on the Tandoor wall.

There are also a few recipes that look as though they are worth a whizz. http://tandoorliving.com.au/Tandoori-cuisine-recipe-indian-curry.html

Cheers

Jocko


But the Tandoori chicken was excellento!