Many of you will have seen the recipes I posted over the past few months using my Doori Tandoor oven. I absolutely love it and use it weekly, sometimes daily, weather permitting. Here I would like to tell you a bit about this brilliant piece of kit and why I like it so much.
By the way, this is not the only tandoor I use. I will be featuring a few soon.
What can you cook in the Doori?
Quite a lot! I don't always blog the recipes I cook in it but here are a few that I have for you to try. As you can see, it's not only about Indian cuisine! You might think of tandoor ovens when you think of delicious Indian food but they can literally cook whatever you use your barbecue for!
Is the Doori easy to put together?
I am the world’s worst at DIY but I found it incredibly simple to put together. It literally took me 10 minutes. It’s also easy to take take apart to put on a shelf for winter storage or to put in your car to take to a friend’s house or to the beach.
How big is the Doori
It’s a similar size to the clay tandoor ovens on the market but it is a lot lighter and easier to move from place to place. Just like my outdoor clay tandoor, it is large enough to hold 6 long skewers, each holding ½ chicken! The essential skewers come with the Doori when you buy it.
What fuel does the Doori require?
The Doori is a charcoal burning tandoor oven. I recommend using good quality lump wood charcoal that has not been treated with lighter fluid. Think of your charcoal as an ingredient because it does add flavour, especially when cooking in a hot tandoor. You want your food to take on the delicious flavour of lump wood smoke and not lighter fuel!
How long does the Doori take to heat up?
This is one of the real bonuses about using the Doori Tandoor. Once your fire is going, it only takes about 30 minutes to heat up! You can use that 30 minutes to skewer up whatever it is you're cooking.
Try cooking in a clay tandoor in just 30 minutes. No chance! My clay tandoors take about two hours to get up to cooking heat. The fact that the Doori can heat up so quickly makes it so much easier to decide, last minute to light it up and cook on a whim, just because you want to.
How long does it take to cook your food?
Small skewered meat like chicken tikka, lamb tikka and chicken wings will cook through in about 15 minutes. Larger pieces of meat will of course take longer. You can skewer a whole chicken or turkey crown and let it sear in the intense heat for the first 30 minutes and then just let it slowly cook and soak up all that lump wood flavour as the Doori cools.
One thing I would like to add here is the fact that the skewers get hot in the Doori as well as they are touching the coals. This means that whatever you are cooking is going to cook not only from the circulating heat the Doori is exceptionally designed for, but from the hot skewer inside. This makes cooking faster while at the same time keeping the meat super juicy throughout.
I liken in to cooking on a rotisserie. You get really flavourful meat just like a rotisserie but without turning.
Can you cook naans and roti in the Doori?
I use my clay tandoors to make naans all the time. Anyone who attended my tandoor classes will know how good they are but also know how difficult they can be for a beginner to slap onto the wall of the oven. It's HOT in there and few left the class without losing a few arm hairs, even when using a long heat-proof glove. Some even refused to give it a go.
Is the Doori easy to clean?
You bet! After you cool it down, you can simply lift out the ash tray and empty it safely. The skewers are made of stainless steel and you can remove the handles to fit into your dishwasher if you want. I usually just wash mine in the sink which only takes minutes.
Final Thoughts
If you have always wanted to try cooking in a tandoor oven or if you're just in the market for a new barbecue, you need to check out the Doori. The Doori is not just an alternative to a traditional tandoor but an easier way of cooking outdoors.
You aren’t limited to just cooking food that is traditionally cooked in a tandoor, but virtually anything that can be skewered. You can also convert the Doori into a traditional BBQ should you wish as a BBQ grill is available.
