The Migration of the Tandoor: A 5000-YO Cooking Secret Behind a Global Phenomenon |
You’ll find a list of tandoor items on the menu of most Indian restaurants, no matter what corner of the world you’re in. The science of baking flatbread in an urn-shaped oven is not recent, but one that has been in existence since time immemorial.
While today the tradition also encompasses meats and other succulents, history reveals that people have been enjoying the wonders of the tandoor right from the time of the Harappan civilisation.
An interesting turn of events led to the tandoor style of cooking being passed down through the lands of undivided Punjab to Delhi — where the historic Moti Mahal restaurant has kept the secret of the tandoor alive since 1920.
The art of baking bread using this method was well-known during the Indus Valley Civilisation 5,000 years ago, suggested by traces of tandoors discovered during the excavation of these sites. People would build cylindrical clay ovens into the ground and light fires with charcoal. The beauty of creating this structure was that within it, temperatures would rise to as high as 400 degrees Celsius, lending the bread and meat a charred or slightly smoky flavour.
But while the tandoor was prevalent during these historical times, it was only during the Mughal era that cooking meats in this style gained popularity.
Emperor Jehangir is to thank........