Tandoor

A tandoor is like a giant, vase-shaped oven made out of clay. It's usually as tall as a grown-up or even taller! Inside, a fire burns with charcoal or wood, making it super hot. This special oven is used to bake delicious flatbreads, like naan and roti, and also to roast yummy meats and vegetables. It’s a very old way of cooking that people have used for thousands of years.

Tandoors have been around for a super long time, since ancient days! People in places like South Asia, Western Asia, and parts of Africa discovered how great this clay oven was for cooking. They would build them either standing up tall or partly dug into the ground. It’s a cooking method that has traveled across many countries and stayed popular because the food tastes so good!

Tandoors are special because they get incredibly hot, sometimes as hot as a pizza oven! This intense heat cooks food really fast and gives it a unique, smoky taste from the fire. The heat can reach up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than your oven at home. Because they need to stay lit for a long time, you often find them in restaurants where chefs can keep them going all day.

The magic of a tandoor comes from its fire! A fire made of charcoal or wood is placed inside the oven. This fire heats up the clay walls, which then radiate heat to cook the food. The smoke from the fire also adds a delicious, smoky flavor to everything cooked inside. Sometimes, bread is even stuck to the sides of the hot clay walls to bake!