Tandoor bread facts for kids
Tandoor flatbread in Azerbaijan
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| Place of origin | Mesopotamia, Indus Valley |
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| Main ingredients | Flour |
Tandoor bread is a special kind of bread. It is baked in a unique clay oven called a tandoor. This oven gets very hot and gives the bread a delicious, smoky flavor.
Contents
History of Tandoor Bread
People have been cooking food in tandoor ovens for about 5,000 years! Scientists have found remains of these clay ovens in places like the Indus River valley. This area is now parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Central Asia.
The word tandoor comes from the Hindi and Urdu languages. It originally came from a Persian word, which might have come from an even older word meaning "mud" and "fire."
In many parts of India, tandoor ovens are not common in regular homes. This is because they can be expensive to build and take care of. You can often find real tandoori food in special restaurants.
However, in some rural areas, like Punjab in India, the tandoor oven is a community gathering spot. Women often bring their dough and marinated meats to a shared tandoor oven. They meet their neighbors and friends there. It's a great way to chat and share stories while waiting for their food to cook. This social tradition used to be common in cities too. But as cities grew, shared tandoor ovens became rare. Sometimes, people will take their food to local bakeries to have it cooked for a small fee.
Outside of Asia, it can be hard to find a tandoor oven. So, people have found clever ways to make tandoor-style food at home. They might use a regular oven or a grill. Using charcoal or wood helps give the food that smoky taste.
Different Kinds of Tandoor Bread
Tandoor bread is popular in many parts of the world. It has different names and styles depending on where you are.
Tandoor Bread in West Asia
In some Arab countries, tandoor bread is called khubz al-tannur. This means 'bread of the tandoor'. In places like Iraq, it's often just called khubz, which means 'bread'. It's similar to another bread called taboon bread.
In Iran, tandoor breads are known as nân-e-tanūri. Some types include nân-e barbari, tâftun, and shirmal.
In Georgia and Armenia, a traditional tandoor is called a tone or tʿonir. The bread baked in it is called tonis ṗuri or tʿonir hacʿ. A boat-shaped bread called shoti is a type of tonis ṗuri. Lavash is another flat, thin tandoor bread eaten in this region.
Tandoor Bread in Central Asia
In Central Asia, people make and eat tandyr nan. This bread has slightly different names in different languages, like Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Uyghur.
In Turkey and Azerbaijan, breads baked in a tandoor are called təndir çörəyi (Azerbaijani) and tandır ekmeği (Turkish).
Tandoor Bread in South Asia
India
Tandoor breads are very popular in northwestern India. This includes regions like Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, and Punjab. Here, breads like naan and Tandoori roti are baked in clay ovens. These naan breads are often called tandoori naan.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, tandoor breads are a main food item. In rural areas, many homes have their own tandoor. In cities, there are commercial tandoors where people buy bread for all their meals. These commercial tandoors are very popular in summer. It's too hot to cook bread at home then!
Pakistani tandoor breads include simple Tandoori roti, which is a flat, unleavened bread. There are also yeast-based breads like khamiri roti, and richer naans and kulcha breads. Specific tandoori breads are often eaten with certain foods. Popular types include Sheermal, Taftan, and Roghni naan.
In the past, the community tandoor was a social place. People would bring their dough to be cooked. They would often pay the baker with wheat. Besides savory breads, tandoors in Pakistan are also used to bake sweet breads like sheermal and qand kulcha.
Tandoori roti is eaten in many South Asian countries. You can find it in restaurants, hotels, and homes. It's also becoming popular in other parts of the world. This is because people from these regions have moved to places like North America and Europe.
Tandoor Bread in the Caribbean
Tandoor bread is also found in Caribbean countries. In places like Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, it is known as roti.
Images for kids
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Baking tandoor bread in Azerbaijan
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Prepared tandoor bread
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Making tandoor bread in India
