Tandoor-nan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Tandoor bread refers to a bread baked in a clay oven called a ''
tandoor A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoor ...
''.


History

Cooking food in a tandoor oven has been done for about five millennia. Remains of a clay oven with indication of cooked food have been excavated in the
Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
valley site of
Kalibangan Kalibangān is a town located at on the left or southern banks of the Ghaggar (Ghaggar-Hakra River) in Tehsil Pilibangān, between Suratgarh and Hanumangarh in Hanumangarh District, Rajasthan, India 205 km. from Bikaner. It is also identifi ...
, and other places in present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwest India, Iran, Iraq and Central Asia. The English word ''tandoor'' comes from
Hindi/Urdu Hindustani (; Devanagari: , * * * * ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lan ...
( / ), which derives from
Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
tanūr () or tandūr (). According to the Dehkhoda Persian Dictionary, the Persian word ultimately came from the
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to: * Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire * Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language * Akkadian literature, literature in this language * Akkadian cuneiform Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
word (), which consists of the parts 'mud' and 'fire' and is mentioned as early as in the Akkadian
Epic of Gilgamesh The ''Epic of Gilgamesh'' () is an epic poetry, epic poem from ancient Mesopotamia, and is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature and the second oldest religious text, after the Pyramid Texts. The literary history of Gilgamesh ...
. ''Tandoor'' has been referred to as in
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
literature, in which tandoori parched, roasted cuisine is described as (roasted in a tandoor such as grains, meat, etc.) along with roasting on coal which has been called . Tandoor ovens are not prevalent in the average Indian home because they are expensive to fabricate, install and maintain. Authentic tandoori cuisine in urban areas can often be found in specialty restaurants. However, in rural areas in India such as
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
, the tandoor oven is considered a social institution, for a tandoor oven is shared among the community. Women would go to the oven place with ''
atta Atta or ATTA may refer to: * Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur * ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae * ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy * Atta flour, whole wheat flour made f ...
'' along with their
marinated Marinating is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. The origin of the word alludes to the use of brine (''aqua marina'' or sea water) in the pickling process, which led to the technique of adding flavor b ...
meats to meet their neighbors and friends, so they could converse and share stories while waiting for their food to cook. The people in cities once engaged in this social activity, but as businesses and commercialism grew in these areas, communal tandoor ovens have become rare. Not uncommonly, people bring food to their local bakeries to cook it there at a fair price. Because of the growing inaccessibility of a tandoor oven in urban areas, especially in cities outside of Southern Asia, people have developed ingenious techniques to replicate the cooking process and the food without the use of the oven. Common alternatives include an oven or a grill fueled by charcoal or wood so the food will be infused with the smoky flavor.


Varieties


West Asia

The Arabic name for tandoor bread is ('bread of the ' ar, خبز التنور). In some places where it is especially common, such as
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, it may be called simply (bread). It is similar to, or in some cases the same as,
taboon bread Taboon bread ( ar, خبز طابون, khubz ṭābūn) is Levantine flatbread baked in a ''taboon'' or ''tannur'' 'tandoor' clay oven, similar to the various tandoor breads found in many parts of Asia. It is used as a base or wrap in many cuisines ...
. In
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, tandoor breads are known as ( fa, نان تنوری). Varieties include ''
nân-e barbari Barbari bread () is a type of yeast leavened Iranian flatbread. It is one of the thickest flat breads and is commonly topped with sesame or black caraway seeds. A notable characteristic of the bread is its top skin that is similar to pretzels or ...
'' ( fa, نان بربری), ''
tâftun Taftan taftoon ( fa, تافتون) or ( ur, ) is a leavened flour bread from Iranian, Indian and Pakistani cuisines. It is made with Refined flour, milk, yoghurt, and eggs and baked in a clay oven. It is often flavoured with saffron and a small ...
'' (), and ''
shirmal Sheermal (Persian/Urdu: , hi, शीरमल), also spelled shirmal, is a saffron-flavored traditional flatbread eaten in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. The word sheermal is derived from the Persian words شیر ( translit. sheer) meaning mil ...
'' (). In Georgia and Armenia, a traditional tandoor is called a '' tone'' ( ka, თონე) and ''
tʿonir A tandoor ( or ) is a large urn-shaped oven, usually made of clay, originating from the Indian Subcontinent. Since antiquity, tandoors have been used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan, as well as to roast meat. The tandoor ...
'' ( hy, թոնիր), and the bread baked in the are called ''
tonis ṗuri Tonis puri ( ka, თონის პური) is a type of Georgian bread, baked in a specific oven called a ''tone'' or ''torne''. The word is cognate with tandoor. The bread is served as any other bread, but it tends to be more popular on speci ...
'' ( ka, თონის პური or hy, թոնիր հաց).
Canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...
-shaped ''
shoti Shotis puri or simply shoti ( ka, შოთის პური) is a type of traditional Georgian bread, made of white flour and shaped like a canoe. Shoti is baked in a specific bakery called ''tone'' or ''torne/turne'' (old Georgian). The word is ...
'' ( ka, შოთი) is a kind of .
Lavash Lavash ( hy, լավաշ) is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor (''tonir'') or on a ''sajj'', and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is one ...
( hy, լավաշ , ka, ლავაში ) is an unleavened variety of tandoor bread eaten in this region.


Central Asia

In Central Asia, ''
tandyr nan ''Tandyr nan'' is a type of Central Asian bread. Names * Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tajik: ''nan'' (), ''tandyr nan'' () * Turkmen: * Uyghur: ''nan'' (), ''tonur nan'' () * Uzbekistan: , * Chinese: ''náng'' () * Russian: ''lepyoshka'' () Variet ...
'' ( Kazakh/
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...
: , Uzbek: , ug, تونۇر نان , tg, нони танурй ) is made and eaten. In
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
, breads baked in tandoor are called ( Azerbaijani) and (
Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...
).


South Asia


India

Tandoor breads are popular in northwestern Indian regions, especially in
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...
,
Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
,
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
,
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
,
Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
,
Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
,
Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
,
Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land ar ...
and
Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
regions, where ''
naan Naan ( fa, نان, nān, ur, , ps, نان, ug, نان, hi, नान, bn, নান) is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread which is found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Ma ...
'' breads and ''
atta Atta or ATTA may refer to: * Atta Halilintar, Indonesian YouTuber, singer and entrepreneur * ''Atta'' (ant), a genus of ants in the family Formicidae * ''Atta'' (novel), a 1953 novel by Francis Rufus Bellamy * Atta flour, whole wheat flour made f ...
'' flat breads such as the
Tandoori roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...
are baked in tandoor clay ovens fired by wood or charcoal. These ''naan''s are known as ''
tandoori naan Naan ( fa, نان, nān, ur, , ps, نان, ug, نان, hi, नान, bn, নান) is a leavened, oven-baked or tawa-fried flatbread which is found in the cuisines mainly of Western Asia, Central Asia, Indian subcontinent, Indonesia, Ma ...
'' ( gu, તંદૂરી નાન, hi, तंदूरी नान). Tandoor ovens are not prevalent in the average Indian home because they are expensive to fabricate, install and maintain. Authentic tandoori cuisine in urban areas can often be found in specialty restaurants and ''dhabas'', which are street-side reasonably fared restaurants that usually line Indian highways. However, in rural areas in India such as Punjab, the tandoor oven is considered a social institution, for a tandoor oven is shared among the community. Women would go to the oven place with ''atta'' along with their marinated meats to meet their neighbors and friends so they could converse and share stories while waiting for their food to cook. The people in cities once engaged in this social activity, but as businesses and commercialism grew in these areas, communal tandoor ovens have become rare. Not uncommonly, people bring food to their local bakeries to cook it there at a fair price.


Pakistan

In
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, tandoor breads are a staple across the country. In rural areas, each home often has its own tandoor, while in urban areas commercial tandoors are available where people buy bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These commercial tandoors are especially popular during summer times when high temperatures in parts of the country make cooking bread at home an unpleasant chore. These breads range from a simple Tandoori roti which is unleavened bread, to yeast-based ''khamiri'' roti, as well as richer and more complex (yeast, milk, egg, etc.-based) naans and ''
kulcha Kulcha is a type of mildly leavened flatbread that originated in the Indian subcontinent. Recipe Kulcha is made from maida flour, water, a pinch of salt and a leavening agent (yeast or old kulcha dough), mixed together by hand to make a very ti ...
'' breads. In
Pakistani cuisine Pakistani cuisine ( ur, , romanized: ''pākistānī pakwān'') can be characterized by a blend of various regional cooking traditions from South Asia, Central and Western Asia, as well as elements from its Mughal legacy. The country's va ...
, specific types of tandoori breads are often eaten with specific foods. Some of the most popular tandoori breads include
Sheermal Sheermal (Persian language, Persian/Urdu: , hi, शीरमल), also spelled shirmal, is a saffron-flavored traditional flatbread eaten in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. The word sheermal is derived from the Persian words شیر (translitera ...
,
Taftan Taftan (in Persian: تفتان ''Taftân'') may refer to: * Taftan (volcano), located in Sistan and Baluchestan province of Iran * Taftan, Balochistan, a town in Balochistan province of Pakistan * Taftan (bread), a leavened flour bread from Persian ...
, and Roghni naan. Commonly, central tandoor was often a social institution where people would bring their ''atta'' or dough to be cooked; and bartered with the baker using ( ur, گندم ) or wheat. In addition to savory breads, tandoors in Pakistan are also used to bake various sweet and semi-sweet breads such as
sheermal Sheermal (Persian language, Persian/Urdu: , hi, शीरमल), also spelled shirmal, is a saffron-flavored traditional flatbread eaten in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. The word sheermal is derived from the Persian words شیر (translitera ...
() and ( ur, قند کلچہ ). Because of the growing inaccessibility of a tandoor oven in urban areas, especially in cities outside of Southern Asia, people have developed ingenious techniques to replicate the cooking process and the food without the use of the oven. Common alternatives include an oven or a grill fueled by charcoal or wood so the food will be infused with the smoky flavor.
Tandoori roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trini ...
is commonly consumed in South Asian countries such as Pakistan and India. This bread is served in restaurants, hotels, industrial canteens and at home. It is also gaining popularity in Asia, North America (outside of the Caribbean) and Europe due to migrants during
British colonialism The British Empire was composed of the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. I ...
.


Caribbean

Tandoor bread is found in
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
countries such as
Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...
,
Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
and
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
(as ''roti'').


Physical and chemical composition

Aroma, smell, appearance, color, size and overall texture are the general characteristics that are optimized by producers of tandoor bread. The texture and quality of tandoor bread are determined by the percentage of wheat protein, the number of essential amino acids and type of flour present in the bread. Various studies have demonstrated that the chemical and biochemical composition of flours affects the flour's ability to interact with the other ingredients in tandoor bread.
Response surface methodology In statistics, response surface methodology (RSM) explores the relationships between several explanatory variables and one or more response variables. The method was introduced by George E. P. Box and K. B. Wilson in 1951. The main idea of RSM ...
is a process which allows for development of palatable tandoor breads that have a long shelf life and contain minimal amounts of
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...
s, which may pose health hazards. For optimal sensory and chemical stability of tandoor bread, the water level is 720 milliliters per kilogram, protein concentrations range from 10.3% to 11.5%, between 1.2 and 1.6% salt is added, and the bread is baked in temperatures ranging from 330 to 450 °C.


See also

*
Primitive clay oven The primitive clay oven, or earthen oven / cob oven, has been used since ancient times by diverse cultures and societies, primarily for, but not exclusive to, baking before the invention of cast-iron stoves, and gas and electric ovens. The genera ...
*
Wood-fired oven upA double oven A ceramic oven An oven is a tool which is used to expose materials to a hot environment. Ovens contain a hollow chamber and provide a means of heating the chamber in a controlled way. In use since antiquity, they have been us ...


Gallery

File:Traditional lavash bread making.jpg,
Lavash Lavash ( hy, լավաշ) is a thin flatbread usually leavened, traditionally baked in a tandoor (''tonir'') or on a ''sajj'', and common to the cuisines of South Caucasus, Western Asia, and the areas surrounding the Caspian Sea. Lavash is one ...
made in tandoor in
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
File:Tandoor bread 1.jpg, Baking tandoor bread in
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
File:Tone.JPG,
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
''
tonis puri Tonis puri ( ka, თონის პური) is a type of Georgian bread, baked in a specific oven called a ''tone'' or ''torne''. The word is cognate with tandoor. The bread is served as any other bread, but it tends to be more popular on speci ...
'' File:Tandoor bread 2.jpg, Prepared tandoor bread File:Tandoorindian.jpg, Making tandoor bread in India


References

{{Bangladeshi dishes Breads Middle Eastern cuisine Iraqi cuisine Levantine cuisine Indo-Caribbean cuisine Central Asian cuisine South Asian cuisine Fijian cuisine