Why don't you make your own indian Tandoor oven? I did!

[R B Customs]

Hey guys,

I've just come off a bit of a mad diet, and I'm now eating healthy and cooking more... with this comes my need to acquire more mad gadgets. This time it's an Indian tandoor oven!

I love Indian takeaways; which is mostly the reason I had to go on a diet... I could eat tandoori chicken tikka all day long, which is generally not that bad for you... but when it comes with korma sauce, poppadoms, naan, and other greasy bits and bobs it starts to loose it's once moderately healthy status. There's another BBQ takeaway which we also used to frequent - very spicy chicken flame grilled chicken breast, but served with bread, chips and coke... so again - same problem; nice healthy chicken - with all of the bad-for-you extras.

I've tried to make this kind of thing myself before in a pan and it doesn't work so I thought I'd see how much of a effective tandoor I could make in my garden for as little money as possible. I saw this video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lEwA7f8HIY and I thought the design was quite cute; although it looked a little small the general idea was pretty good.


I have made something along these lines and have just had my first chicken kebabs from it - great success!

the tandoor

kebabs!

testing one piece

You will need:
1* 43cm terracotta flower pot (£9.99)

2* 30cm terracotta flower pot (£4.49)

1* 15cm terracotta flower pot (£0.79)

1* set of terracotta pot stands(£1.99)

1 bag of all purpose 10mm gravel (£2.49)

Everything was bought from Homebase. I was shocked that terracotta pots would be so cheap; and that I could get it all in one place. I used gravel instead of vermiculite; it's one of those things that everyone on the internet says you can just get from any old DIY store. you cant.

I've had this problem before trying to find it and had to use very expensive round balls of vermiculite in a tropical frog vivarium once and it was very expensive. I guess it's lighter and a better insulator - but the gravel does seem to be working fine for now and was dirt cheap.


Method:

1. saw the bottom off a 30cm pot and keep the base to use as a lid. set to one side.
2. saw the rim off a 15cm pot and snap it into thirds, set aside.
3: arrange the pot stands int he bottom of a 43cm pot and make a circle out of the thirs fo the pot rim that you snapped; making the pit stands fill in the gaps. This is to form a barrier against the gravel that you will pour in later on.
4. place an untouched 30cm pot into the 43cm pot and rest it on the pot stands.
5. place the sawn-off 30cm pot rim-down onto the rim of the other 30cm pot to form the inside of the oven.
6. fill the outside with Vermiculite (or gravel, like I did)
7. make a grill to suspend the coals on and place it int he bottom of the oven.

Video Method:

Sorry, this video is crap... I didn't want to spend any more time than I did making it!






Observations:

1.
Things at the bottom of the skewer burn. A big bit of lemon prevented this only a little bit; but really I need to get the meat higher up the skewer, for this I need longer ones (these were a quick grab from test and are probably fine for bbq but not for tandoor cooking)

I've seen some thick, long square skewers on ebay which I might buy this week - it certainly needs them! and then I will be able to do seekh kebabs also.

2. lumpwood charcoal; although messy and smokey does seem to be the better choice over briquettes. I used a combination of both though.

3. don't rest the pointy end on your oven-mitted hand otherwise it will instantly burn a hole right through the glove and make a considerable burnt hole in your finger.


pros:
+ very cheap
+ fool proof
+ gets very hot and lasts for ages
+ has not cracked yet - not bothered if it does!

cons
- top could do with insulating
- quite heavy
- requires more gadgets (kebab skewers)


So show me the food!
Well, you see... what happened was a massive technology fail right at the end; on top of hunger turning to anger. and what I did was have a massive huff, and ate my chicken in a sulk, watching telly. I put the chicken in a pitta which I left in the tandoor and burned, then dropped on the floor. it had salad and a tiny amount of mayo. it was vey nice, but the next step is finding the recipe that my local Indian takeaways use for the marinade.
if anyone knows the answer please tell me! there are too many recipes online that are simply nowhere near the real thing. I was considering just asking my local what they use to be honest - but that means going in and ordering some of their chicken plus a bucket of grease to wash it down.



your turn!

 

[FrenchTart]

This is one of the best posts on here in a long time. Really awesome and inspiring

 

[jellybeard999]

I've not seen it, but heard Jamie Oliver on the radio

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamie-and-jimmys-friday-night-feast/4od#3636319

The world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, cooks his Aunt Lily's jerk pork; Jamie cooks the ultimate steak; and Jimmy makes a tandoor oven out of a dustbin and a flower pot.

 

[R B Customs]

I've not seen it, but heard Jamie Oliver on the radio

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/jamie-and-jimmys-friday-night-feast/4od#3636319

The world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, cooks his Aunt Lily's jerk pork; Jamie cooks the ultimate steak; and Jimmy makes a tandoor oven out of a dustbin and a flower pot.

Ah yea, my brother told me about this so I watched it on YouTube in the car park before buying all the pots. It doesn't look as neat - but looks like a much more effective oven than mine. I had a cautionary tally up of what it would cost and thought I'd try the cheaper way first. would be good to see someone do it though!

 

[Raymond Lin]

That's wicked, although I have a few question.

1 - how do you empty out the used coal/ash
2 - with food being placed there like that, won't the ones on the skewer closest to the coal gets burnt before the top being cooked?

 

[robfosters]

Follow this recipe and it will be the best tikka you have ever made at home. Believe me!

It's a bit indepth and a few ingredients are pretty much mail order only, but it's more than worth it. You can also freeze it if you make a large batch.

To start off, you need to make a tandoori paste. you can get this in jars from your supermarket, but you should really make it yourself, like this:

40g Coriander powder
30g Cumin powder
40g Garlic Powder
40g Paprika
20g Ginger Powder
20g Mango Powder (also called Amchoor powder)
20g Dried Mint
20g Beetroot Powder
10g Anatto Seed Powder
10g Chilli Powder
5g red food colouring powder (optional. You may not need it with the beetroot powder. Depends on your preference for colour)

You might need a specialist food store or the internet for the beetroot powder and anatto.

Simply combine all these in a bowl and mix with water to make a thick paste that just drops off a spoon. This can be stored for a couple of months. But you're gonna want to use it, so pour some (not a lot) into a small pan and heat until the oil floats to the top. Leave to cool.

Then you need to make the tikka marinade. For this you need:-

150g Natural Yoghurt
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 tbsp Fresh Lime juice
2 Garlic cloves finely chopped
2-3 fresh red chillies finely chopped
2 tbsp Chopped fresh coriander
1 teaspoon of roasted white cumin seeds. (just heat them in a dry pan until you start to smell the aroma)
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
2 tbsp of the tandoori paste we made earlier
1 tbsp Tomato Puree
A dash of salt

Could'nt be simpler. Sling all these ingredients into a blender and whizz, slowly adding just enough water to make it easy to pour and smooth. You can put this in the fridge until you need it.

To make your tikka, just mix the marinade in with chicken or meat and leave in the fridge, preferably overnight. Then stick on skewers and cook by grilling or, my choice, barbecuing. Serve with some fresh salad and a little lemon.

Like I said, it's a lot of work, but is totally worth it if you're a big tikka fan. and particularly if you have your own tandoor.

 

[robfosters]

That's wicked, although I have a few question.

1 - how do you empty out the used coal/ash
2 - with food being placed there like that, won't the ones on the skewer closest to the coal gets burnt before the top being cooked?

The idea is that terracotta/clay absorbs heat massively, and retains it. A short while alight and the whole pot becomes very hot, so the heat ends up actually quite uniform.

Naan breads should be made as well and just slapped on the side.

 

[R B Customs]

That's wicked, although I have a few question.

1 - how do you empty out the used coal/ash
2 - with food being placed there like that, won't the ones on the skewer closest to the coal gets burnt before the top being cooked?

thanks Raymond.
1
theres a hole about an inch in diameter in the bottom of the pot which is just big enough to flick lumpsbthrough or sweep ash into. the whole thing currently sits in an old fake webber kettle bbq that i kept hold of. this has an ash collector and the whole thing works quice well. (note that there are two holes aligned in the bott9m of the pot so a little bit of ash will gather in the gap over time.

2
the stuff immediately near the coal definitely does burn, but the rest does not. this is my own fault really as i should be using giant skewers which will be able to hold the meat much higher up. its generally a very even and quick cook.
my really thin skewers still do it to an extent, but proper 6mm skewers actually cook the meat from the inside too, so thats something to keep in mind.

ill be ordering some soon!

 

[gpuerrilla]

This is one of the best posts on here in a long time. Really awesome and inspiring

+1 love it mate!

 

[R B Customs]

Follow this recipe and it will be the best tikka you have ever made at home. Believe me!

... snip...

Like I said, it's a lot of work, but is totally worth it if you're a big tikka fan. and particularly if you have your own tandoor.

woah thanks for that! you are right, some of those ingredients are not exactly off the shelf! there's an indian supermarket near by so i will stopp off there one night to see if they have any of it and get the rest online.

just a quick question about the tandoori paste... so i have this right, you say mix it all up into a thick paste, and then you can store it like that (wet) and heat it in batches before you need it? where does the floating oil come from?

and with regards to the marinade, can this be done without the oil, or with a substitute? im really trying to cut out added fats.

thanks again man!

 

[MrMarvelous]

Can't wait to try this! Problem is i'll have to wait until the summer.

 

[robfosters]

just a quick question about the tandoori paste... so i have this right, you say mix it all up into a thick paste, and then you can store it like that (wet) and heat it in batches before you need it? where does the floating oil come from?

and with regards to the marinade, can this be done without the oil, or with a substitute? im really trying to cut out added fats.

thanks again man!

Yes, tandoori paste can be kept in a sealed jar in the fridge for a few weeks, or stored in the freezer for longer. You buy it in sealed jars when you buy pataks paste and the like.

The oil floats because oil has a lower density than water and will naturally rise to the top. Particularly when heated and the water evaporates, the oil rises even more. Like you, I'm not entirely sure where the oil comes from, but it must be drawn from the various spices somehow. The frying releases all the lovely aromas from the spices, just the same with dry toasting spices like cumin seeds.

As for the marinade, you need an oil, but I'm sure you wouldn't notice much difference substituting vegetable for sunflower oil.

If you really find the ingredients hard to come by, I suppose you can use shop bought tandoori paste, but I highly doubt it would be as nice. I know for a fact all the ingredients can be found online. http://www.theasiancookshop.co.uk/ will sort you right out. They do the annatto, beetroot and mango powders. The others can be found in any high street supermarket. I know I have bought mango powder in Asda's. That's one of the advantages of a multi-cultural society, our supermarkets are now full of wonderful ingredients.

Lastly, if you don't want the wet paste right away, you can store the dry mix in a sealed container for quite a while. I was still using my dry mix almost a year later. It didn't lose any taste at all.

 

[R B Customs]

Can't wait to try this! Problem is i'll have to wait until the summer.

Just do it now mate! it'l keep you warm for a weekend!

Yes, tandoori paste can be kept in a sealed jar in the fridge for a few weeks...

[snip]

...I was still using my dry mix almost a year later. It didn't lose any taste at all.

Thanks again for the help mate that all makes sense now. I'm going to try and order today for a big cook out at the weekend I think. hopefully everything will come!

 

[panthro]

What a great idea! Do you find that if you put the skewers in vertically, that the meat at the bottom cooks quicker than the meat at the top?

 

[Fuggan]

Epic! Can't wait to see some of the food that comes out of it.

 

[valve90210]

Looks pretty good, out of interest how hot did the outer pot get?

 

[R B Customs]

What a great idea! Do you find that if you put the skewers in vertically, that the meat at the bottom cooks quicker than the meat at the top?

this is the way every tandoor works - it looks odd but it's the retained and reflected heat that cooks the meat higher up. Unfortunately I don't have an infared thermometer to show you!

I mentioned earlier (post # 8)some detail about my observations regarding coal proximity. ordering skewers today hopefully.

Looks pretty good, out of interest how hot did the outer pot get?

it stayed cool for hours, and then after about 5 hours it started to warm up, changed colour slightly and eventually got hot, but never too hot to touch really. I was amazed how long the coal burned for. nothing like a BBQ.

I'm not sure how vermiculite instead of gravel would affect this.

 

[valve90210]

Hmmm, that's interesting, could mean it's useable in a family gardenevenif there are kids about...

 

[Bubo]

Good job Indian restaurants don't quote "Cooked in a giant flower pot" on their menus, doesn't have quite the same ring to it

 

[Cosimo]

That really is very good!