Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

[azpizzanut]

Hello,

I'm researching my next project and need help from those who already have a residential tandoor.


Do you use charcoal? What kind? Any alternative fuels? How much fuel in lb or kg?

How long does it take to heat to cooking temperature?

What is a useful dimension of the cooking chamber for a small family?

Thank you in advance for your comments.

Cheers,

[DrGamete]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Bob,

Just saw your post here. I'll follow I'm following along.

Cheers,
Rob

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Bob,

Good to see your refractory/fire juices are still flowing and a tandoor is in your future. I knew you couldn't stop at one, er, two ovens!

My first thoughts are to use leftover firebricks and model it after this cast tandoor:

The Tandoor Site

The dimensions may be a little different, but I would like to employ the same WFO construction methods including insulation. The wet saw puts such a smooth glass-like surface on my firebricks I should get a great naan surface to cook on. By going with a 3"thick wall and insulation I should also be able to do low-slow cooking like a vertical smoker. I also plan to build (cast?) a refractory 'lid' to accomplish this.

My biggest challenge shall be contouring the inside diameter so that it is round rather than segmented like the faces of the oven bricks are. I may just go with a smaller-width brick which will minimize this.

It would be cool to drop the tandoor into a counter but then again, I could always tile it like the Komado grills and put it on wheels to roll around.

Gonna cast yours? I'm not sure if a fired clay pot will perform well unless its reasonably similar in shape. BTW- there's a number of sites out there that will sell you the skewers, hooks and naan mitts and stuff you'll need.

John

[azpizzanut]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Hi John, Rob,

Thank you, I've looked at The Tandoor Site in the past.

I've seen diamond bladed band saws for lapidary work. A full fire brick might be a lot to cut but splits should be ok. Someone with CAD experience could design the curved transition from straight sides to smaller diameter top. It wouldn't be too hard to make the cuts in a jig, although I'd have to think on that part a bit about how to set it up.

I think the best scenario would be to locate clay liners. That way we'd all be on the same level at the beginning of the builds. I'll keep looking.

Cheers,

Bob

[azpizzanut]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Hi All,

Yikes, I should be careful what I wish for: about our tandoors | tandoori ovens | clay tandoor ovens

Cheers,

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

I saw this site. Ron Levy's tandoors are now manufactured by Superior Clay. The main attraction to building one myself is the cost and building it thicker to double as a smoker.

[ebbro]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

I've thought of building a tandoor as well and wanted to buy a clay liner. Somewhere I found the liner f/ a few hundred dollars. Of course the shipping was around $1000. Most sources I've found are in India or the UK and if the price is reasonable to begin with the shipping isn't. Otherwise the price is high and the shipping is reasonable. The net is usually similar, but too high for me.

Really though, what can you do in a tandoor that you can't do in the WFO?

[azpizzanut]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Hello ebbro,

I agree that tandoor sellers are very proud of their products and shippers have you by the $#@*!

"Really though, what can you do in a tandoor that you can't do in the WFO"? (quote from post #7)

Interesting perspective and quite the coincidence. It is the same thing that my contact in India said. If I had to answer I'd have to say that naan bread is one and cooking style is another. I concede that you can adapt to cooking naan bread and skewered chicken wings in a wfo. The question might be another for discussion in this thread.

Meanwhile, my questions from post #1 have not been answered.

Cheers,

[Spiceman]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Hi all,
Just a new user of the site. I came across it on my search for pizza info. I have not long ago purchased a tandoor for home and have been making some great pizza in it - so I am now hoping to fine tune the process.
As for your questions Bob, I use charcoal, but you can used processed coal products like "Heat Beads". Do not use wood as the sap and resin in it will "poison" the clay pot (as it is quite porous). You can use the walls of the pot to cook delicious naan bread, so you do not want it to taste of burnt resin/sap/soot etc.
Depending on the size of the tandoor you will generally go through 1-2kg of fuel for a good cook up. Unlike the WFO's you can get up to cooking temperature in only about 30-40 minutes. My tandoor is about 460mm in diameter and about 660mm high (including the outer stainless steel casing). This is more than enough for a family of 6 - and I have fed 12 adults with no problem!
I must say that I think the tandoor is more versatile than a WFO, I have a grill that drops into the tandoor to cook large pieces of meat (whole chicken, duck etc), skewers for cooking anything you can skewer (which is done vertically - so no turning the skewers), the clay pot wall for cooking nann bread, and a pizza kit than drops into the tandoor for cooking pizza. The radiant heat from the clay pot and the great air flow in the pot gives you great cooking conditions.
As for the cost, I had mine delivered for just over $1000.

Cheers

[Spiceman]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Post deleted due to duplication.

[GianniFocaccia]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Spiceman,

Thanks for the advice. I plan to build a tandoor using firebricks and have a few questions for you. Is your 460x660 tandoor an average size for tandoors? If you were to change anything about it (ie: diameter at top/bottom, angle of inside contour, etc) would you? How large is the air hole at the bottom? How do you remove accumulated ashes from the tandoor?

I assume it is well insulated inside the stainless shell and has a 'lid'. I plan to fabricate a refractory lid that will allow me to cook roasts low and slow (228F). Is this advisable and when you cook your whole chickens do you employ a lid?

Thanks in advance. Some pis of your tandoor and especially the food that comes out of it would be a treat!

John

[azpizzanut]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Hello spiceman,

Thank you for the valuable information about your experiences with your tandoor.

Thanks to John for his insightful questions too. I know he's keen on building a tandoor of his own design.

I've seen a tandoor advertised on eBay that has an insert for cooking/roasting. I wasn't sure of the opening size so it seemed like the pizzas would be small. There is nothing wrong with small pizzas, it's just that I am trying to gauge the size of the opening to give me an idea of what size tandoor is most useful for my home.

Thank you for your comments and please stay with us since we need expert opinions and knowledge. You've answered some of my questions already. I think maybe we need guidance on building a tandoor from locally available or purchased materials too.

Cheers,

[ebbro]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

Spiceman,
Is 460 mm the opening size or maximum diameter? 460 mm would be a larger opening than any I've come across, but somewhat small for the maximum diameter.

[Spiceman]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

G?day All,

Not sure if I am an expert on tandoors, but I will try and answer your questions.

The 460X660 tandoor is quite a good family sized tandoor. I purchased my home tandoor and there is not much I would change about its design. The clay pot has a traditional concave design 280mm diameter at the top and bottom and about 360mm diameter in the middle. The vent door at the bottom is about 150 mm square. The ash is simply swept out through the bottom vent door (typically 1-2 cups of ash per cook).

The tandoor is constructed from an outer stainless steel skin and an inner clay pot, with glass wool insulation in between these two. It also has a stainless steel lid (gets hot but looks good). I usually cook with the lid on (keeping a gap for air flow or for the skewers to stick out).

I have a grill that drops into the tandoor and can cook large pieces of meat, whole chicken, duck etc inside the tandoor. The pizza kit also cooks great pizza. The pizza is lowered into the tandoor and sits about half way down inside. It only fits a 9 inch pizza, but they cook in about 5-7 minutes ? so you can make quite a few different pizza in a short time. The high temps and dry heat from the charcoal get a real crispy base and well cooked toppings.

As for pictures, I have not got around to taking any yet. However, the website of the company I purchased the tandoor from (Tandoor Living) has a lot of pictures and a few videos. Not sure if it is the done thing to post the web site details here, but it is www.tandoorliving.com.au

Cheers

[azpizzanut]

Re: Tandoor/Tandoori Oven Users

G'day Spiceman,

Thank you for another fine post about your tandoor and for providing the dealer website information. I wrote the dealer an email and within minutes had answers about prices and shipping to the U.S.

My wife and I are looking at the various models and features. I think we are in agreement about the larger size oven. It will make a great addition to our outdoor cooking options. I can hear the conversation now...."Honey? Should I light up the BBQ, or wfo, or smoker or tandoor tonight"? Having these choices available is a blessing and makes our shared cooking experiences enjoyable.

The website is a goldmine of information about using and caring for a tandoor. The photos and videos are wonderful too. I was surprised at how little charcoal is needed and how quickly a tandoor will heat to cooking temperature. It's as easy as using a Weber and just as versatile, in its own way.

Cheers,