The Love of Barbecue: Grilling vs. Tandoor

After reading my post on Tandoori Chicken, I’m sure you noticed my love for tandoori foods. So when I was recently asked to share an article about Barbecuing using the grill vs. tandoor, I was happy to share it with everyone! Over the next few days I also will be sharing recipes from Chef Hemant Mathur, the Michelin-starred chef of NYC’s Tulsi restaurant.

In the western world barbecue and grilling are associated with summer, relaxing and simple foods. No other cuisine comes close to the love and ritual that comes with it. From backyard barbecues to professional competitions, each grill master, self-proclaimed or otherwise, takes his methods, sauces, marinades and tools very seriously closely guarding their secrets to deeply delicious meals. Barbecue is everywhere, you can see it at sports events, smell it any summer weekend and taste it all-year around.

For South Asians, the notion of barbecue also includes foods cooked in the tandoor, or South Asian barbecue, with its smoked aromas and seared-in juices and flavors. While many South Asians will cook tandoori-marinated foods on their backyard grills and be perfectly happy with the less-than-authentic results, for meticulous foodies and grillmaster purists, nothing but the genuine will do. The question that arises is exactly what is the difference between the two grilling methods?

Tandoor ovens, by design, differ from open top grills, but include grilling techniques as one of its three cooking methods. A tandoor is a belly-shaped cylindrical clay oven that originated in the ancient Indus Valley civilizations and can be found under varied monikers all over Asia. The “tandoor,” however, is mostly associated with South Asian cuisine. What makes tandoor cooking different from grilling is that its unique shape allows for foods to be cooked in four different methods. Foods like meats, seafood and vegetables are skewered onto long steel rods and place inside the belly of the tandoor. The heat from the bottom burning charcoals firstly chars the foods on the outside through radiant heat similar to a grill. Secondly, the moisture-retaining clay walls of the tandoor retain and circulate moist heat around the skewers similar to a convection oven retaining the foods inner juices. Third, as the juices drip down onto the charcoals, it produces smoke which gets captured within the belly and “smokes” the foods imparting a signature “tandoor” scent. Since temperatures in the tandoor can reach up to 900˚F, foods cook quickly and evenly with little chance of drying out. Finally, the walls of the tandoor are used as a griddle to cook various flatbreads such as naan, lavaash, tonis and Afghan flatbread. More versatile than a grill, cooking in a tandoor usually results in more flavorful and tender dishes.

Tandoors, like barbecues, are also known to encourage fierce rivalry between its masters. In the US, Chef Hemant Mathur, the Michelin-starred chef of NYC’s Tulsi restaurant is recognized as the country’s top Tandoor Master by restaurant critics, celebrities and politicians (Tulsinyc.com). Although he has a commercial grade tandoor in his restaurant, for home, Chef Hemant recommends the Homdoor, a portable backyard tandoor grill that is easy and safe to use (Homdoor.com). The Homdoor, designed and manufactured by Ron Levy, a ceramic artist who has been making commercial tandoors for over 30 years, is designed with a clay belly encased in stainless steel and outfitted with wheels, making it perfect for the backyard. The Homdoor comes with all the utensils needed to cook various creations. Cooking in the Homdoor, Chef Hemant shares the following epicurean recipes that reflect his Tandoor Master status. Although the recipes are designed for a tandoor, a regular grill can be used as a substitute.