WHAT IS A TANDOOR OVEN?

         I know I've mentioned a tandoor oven before, (such as in the Tandoori Chicken at the restaurant I reviewed), but I've never actually explained what it is!  Tandoor ovens are shaped like a cylinder and are usually made of clay.  Azerbaijan, India, Turkey, Iran, Armenia, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, along with Burma and Bangladesh are places in which the tandoor oven is used for cooking.  A charcoal or wood fire traditionally heats the tandoor, burning inside it.  Some modern day tandoors use gas instead.  The food in the oven is exposed to "live-fire, radiant heat cooking, and hot-air, convection cooking."  The temperature in the tandoor oven can reach 900 degrees F!  Wow, now I can understand why my Tandoori Chicken was so HOT! Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Tikka can be cooked in a tandoor.   Naan, the Indian bread, is also baked in one.  
        I have to go now, but I'll add more about the tandoor later! 
    --gracie
LATER:
             Yoski! (my made up word)! I'm back with more about the tandoor oven! 

 "Tandoori" is a word that describes a dish that has been cooked in a tandoor oven, or to be more exact, it means 'pertaining to the tandoor."  Popularized during the Muslim rule in South Asia, the tandoor has travelled all the way to the Middle East with the Roma people (not actually from Rome~ the Roma people began in the Thar Desert Tribes).  Tandoori food is displayed the culinary pride of the people of India because it is prepared with great care.  The tandoor oven at Flavors of India looks different than the oven in the picture above because they are made up of different styles and materials.
     --gracie