When you’re sampling Indian food and see a dish described as tandoori, it refers to the way that the food is cooked. A variety of such dishes exist, from tandoori chicken to fish. Learn more about tandoori cooking below, including how the food is prepared and what flavors are used as a marinade.

What Is Tandoori?

Tandoori food gets its name from the cooking tool used to make it. A tandoor is a clay pot, or clay oven, that is designed to cook food over a fire. Often, the tandoor is placed in the ground or inside an enclosure to ensure it can reach high temperatures.

The heat stays trapped in the oven, only escaping from the opening of the pot. As a result, the food cooked using this method is exposed to temperatures of up to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. The food is placed on a skewer and lowered into the top of the tandoor and cooked in this hot, smoky oven.

What Flavors Are Incorporated?

Tandoori food’s flavor comes from a marinade combining several key ingredients. The start of every tandoori marinade is plain yogurt. Thanks to the yogurt’s consistency and mild flavor, it works well as a marinade that sticks the herbs and spices to the meat. The yogurt is combined with an array of spices, including garam masala, ginger, coriander, garlic, and cayenne pepper.

To incorporate the flavors consistently throughout the dish, these spices are combined using a mortar and pestle. Then, they are mixed into the plain yogurt, and this marinade is applied to the Indian food before it goes into the tandoor. 

Enjoy a variety of Indian food, including tandoori dishes, at Coromandel Cuisine of India in Orange, CT. Choose from nearly a dozen tandoori dishes, or select a beef, chicken, lamb, or vegetarian dish from the extensive menu. You’ll experience superior service as you enjoy an authentic Indian meal. Call (203) 795-9055 to make reservations or check out their menu online.