Tandoori
Tandoori means cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven heated with charcoal.1,2,3 Its most celebrated dish is tandoori chicken, and naan is baked in it too.3,4
Also known as Tandoor style
Tandoori refers to food cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven fired with charcoal.1,2,3,5 The oven is shaped like a large urn, at least one metre high and often sunk up to its neck in the ground; it can reach 480 °C.3,4 Meat is first marinated in yogurt and spices and hung vertically in the oven on long skewers.3,6,7 Naan is pressed against the hot inner wall, where it bakes in a few minutes.3,4,8 Tandoori chicken, a whole marinated chicken, gets its red colour from the spices.3,6
What is the difference between tandoori and tikka?
Tikka comes from the Hindi and Urdu word for a small piece of meat: it is marinated meat cooked on a skewer. Tandoori means cooked in a tandoor; tandoori chicken is a whole marinated chicken, often served on the bone.1,3,6,7
What is the difference between naan and tandoori?
Naan is a leavened flatbread traditionally baked in a tandoor. Tandoori is the word for dishes cooked in that oven.1,3,4
What is a tandoor?
A cylindrical clay oven shaped like a large urn and fired with charcoal. It can reach 480 °C (900 °F).2,3,4
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Sources
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). tandoori. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). tandoor. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Britannica Editors. (1998). tandoori cookery. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Murtoff, J. (2023). naan. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Pai Raikar, S. (2026). Indian cuisine. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Siciliano-Rosen, L. (2015). tandoori chicken. In Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). tikka. In Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
- Ajmera, S. (n.d.). System and Method for Preparing Naan Bread. FGF Brands Inc. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
Cite this entry
MLA
“Tandoori.” Indian Culture Glossary, Indian Culture, https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/tandoori.
Chicago
Indian Culture Glossary, s.v. “Tandoori,” https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/tandoori.
APA
Indian Culture. (n.d.). Tandoori. In Indian Culture glossary. https://www.indian-culture.de/en/glossar/tandoori