Tandoori

A reader has asked: What is a tandoori oven?

A: A tandoor is a large clay egg, open at the top. The fire is at the bottom of the egg and food is cooked on skewers lowered directly into the oven. Most breads are stretched over a kind of cushion and pressed directly against the inside wall of the oven to bake. Although tandoori ovens are mostly associated with Indian cooking, they are popular throughout Central Asia and Turkey, too.