Adding a tandoor oven to your culinary collection is a great decision to make for any home chef. The satisfying flavor and perfect cook achieved through tandoori grilling is unlike any other you’ll experience. However, there are many things that home chefs should know prior to making their purchase. To help make your purchasing decision that much easier, we’ve put together a list of the five things you need to know before buying a tandoor oven for your home. Let’s get started!
1. The Different Types of Tandoor Ovens
The most important thing to realize is that there are a few different types of tandoor ovens available, each offering its own unique set of advantages depending on your specific needs and preferences:
Charcoal Tandoor Ovens
Charcoal tandoori grills offer the most authentic cooking experience due to their enhanced smokiness. As the meats and vegetables cook, juices splash down onto the charcoals, creating a flavorful, smoky, convection-style cooking chamber that results in powerful, unmistakably tandoori flavor.
Propane Tandoor Ovens
Propane tandoors offer home chefs greater temperature control when operating their tandoori grills. Managing temperature is often one of the greatest challenges when just getting started with tandoori grilling, making propane tandoors a great option for beginner tandoori pitmasters.
Natural Gas Tandoor Ovens
A natural gas tandoor oven connects directly to your home’s supply, making it easier for you to ensure your grill is always properly fueled and ready to use. These tandoor ovens also create lower emissions for a greener grilling experience and fewer fumes while hosting cookouts. Since natural gas is less expensive than propane, you’ll also enjoy reduced fueling costs for your tandoor.
2. The Size of Your Chosen Tandoor Oven
In addition to the fuel type, you’ll also need to consider the size of your tandoor and how it will fit into your backyard landscape. Tandoor grills are meant for outdoor use, and it’s important for home chefs to leave enough space between their ovens and their home (about two inches of space should be fine). On the smaller end, a standard tandoor runs about 23.5” high and 24” in diameter. Larger stainless-steel tandoors on the other hand stand at about 32” high and 26.5” in diameter.
The size of your chosen tandoor will matter much more if you opt for a custom install configuration. These models are meant to be transformed into a tandoori style firepit, which you can build on your own. This will require you to take detailed measurements of your tandoor in order to ensure you have enough materials to build your fire-resistant wall when creating a space for your custom-install oven.
3. The Manufacturing Process & Materials
When selecting a tandoor oven, it’s important to consider how the materials are sourced, where manufacturing takes place, and how well the employees are treated. At Hōmdoor, each of our tandoori grills is proudly made right here in the United States. Our tandoors are perfectly crafted using clay materials sourced directly from our headquarters in Ohio, ensuring the highest quality clay oven possible.
4. The Ongoing Maintenance Needs for Tandoors
Whether you purchase a tandoor oven from Hōmdoor or another American-made company, choosing brands that feature high-quality, locally sourced materials isn’t just important for sustainability and ethical reasons. Higher quality materials and manufacturing processes mean a more durable product that requires less maintenance. When made right, a tandoor should be able to withstand grill season after grill season with little to no maintenance needs aside from cleaning, covering, and the occasional crack repair.
5. The Different Foods You Can Cook
Despite its ancient history dating back to the Punjabi people of India, tandoor ovens aren’t just used to cook traditional Indian meals: They can be used to prepare just about any barbecue feast you can imagine. From saffron tikka masala to hotdogs and hamburgers, tandoor ovens are incredibly versatile for satisfying even the most discerning palette. Check out some of our favorite recipes our guest chefs have helped us develop below:
Chef Hemant’s Classic Chicken Tikka
Grill Girl Robyn’s Cilantro Lime Beef Satay with Homemade Naan
Former MasterChef Contestant Shari Mukherjee’s Apple Crisp
Now that you understand the basics of tandoor oven ownership, it’s time to complete your home kitchen: Shop our state-of-the-art home tandoor ovens online today!