Tandoori roti, chicken and paneer

Several ready-to-eat Indian traditional foods are prepared by employing a tandoor, a special type of urn-shaped baking oven used for a long time. The oven is traditionally made of clay and is used to prepare several popular traditional foods like tandoori roti and naan (Figure 4.3.1), tandoori chicken, or grilled chicken and tandoori paneer or tikka. Tandoori ovens are often used in restaurants, fast food chains and during social functions.

This traditional oven is in use for several centuries in many Asian countries including India. Tandoors have been mostly used to bake unleavened flatbreads, such as roti and naan. The conventional sources of heat in a tandoor oven are charcoal or firewood. Modern or improved tandoors are often made of metals like mild steel or stainless steel, and employ fuel gas, charcoal or electricity instead of wood as the source of heat. Often the inner lining of a tandoor is made of clay and/or refractory bricks. The external surface is often covered with a thick layer of clay to reduce heat losses.

A traditional tandoor is a cylindrical vertical oven used for baking or cooking or both. The high temperature in the tandoor makes it suitable to cook/bake semi-moist raw food ingredients though there is a chance of the formation of charred spots on the finished products due to localised overheating. Tandoors made of clay are capable of withstanding high temperatures like 400-500°C. These ovens have only one opening at the top. The simple design of tandoors and their low costs are the advantages of the food service sector. Several ready-to-eat products are prepared by employing a tandoor such as tandoori roti, naan, tandoori chicken and tandoori paneer or paneer tikka.  

Raw materials
Whole wheat flour (atta), salt, butter and edible oil are the main raw materials for tandoori roti and naan. Chicken or meats from sheep and goats are the main ingredients used for preparing chicken tandoori and similar meat-based products. Tandoori paneer or tikka is mainly prepared using paneer (Indian cottage cheese cubes) and other additives like mustard oil, and several spices like ginger, onion, chilli,  turmeric, etc; a small quantity of besan (chickpea flour) is also used to have an adequate binding of spices on the paneer pieces.

Method of preparation
Unleavened flatbread like tandoori roti is conventionally prepared using whole wheat flour (atta) though maida (refined wheat flour) is also used. It may be stuffed with cooked vegetables (boiled and mashed potato, radish or cauliflower), and/or paneer. The tandoori rotis are 150-200 mm in diameter and 4-6 mm in thickness. Triangular pieces having the length of sides of 200-250 mm are also prepared (Figure 4.3.2). Medium hard wheat has been indicated to be suitable for the preparation of tandoori roti. The moisture content of the finished product is generally between 30 and 35%. About 1% salt, based on the mass of wheat flour, is added to the dough formulation to avoid the bland taste of the finished product and to improve heat transfer.

Dough from whole wheat flour is prepared as it is done for the preparation of chapathi. They are then manually formed into individual spherical or hemi-spherical shaped samples. These samples are rolled or flattened to the desired size followed by carefully placing in the inner part of the preheated tandoor. The process of baking/cooking is continued for 2-5 minutes when brown or black spots start appearing on the surface of the baked product which indicates the completion of the cooking process. The hot samples are then removed with a metal hook or tong. The baked product is greased with a small quantity of oil or fat, and cut into two pieces. The warm product is served along with a curry as cold samples are not appreciated by the consumers.

The process of tandoori chicken preparation is mostly an art of chefs (Figure 4.3.3). It varies widely concerning the use of ingredients, and processing methods as well as the quality attributes of the finished product. In general, small or medium chicken pieces, after the removal of skin, are cleaned with hot water. The pieces are often provided with small cut marks for efficient marination and cooking. They are marinated by using table salt, black salt, dahi (optional), and powders of chilli, coriander, cumin, amchur (dry raw mango) and turmeric; a mixture of onion, garlic and ginger pastes, lime juice, and tomato and chilli sauces are also often used. The process of marination can be repeated once and may have a duration of 1-2 hours at the ambient temperature of storage, or storing for 6-10 hours in a refrigerator. Then they are placed inside the tandoor oven for cooking/grilling/baking. Meat pieces are fastened together or pierced with a pin or skewer, and then placed inside the tandoor by hanging or kept on metal racks having suitable metal meshes. Alternatively, the meat pieces are placed on the wire mesh racks of a baking oven. The marinated items may be added once more after the surface of the meat pieces become dry during the initial stage of baking. The cooking process is considered complete once the small charred spots appear on the surface of the meat pieces, and textural softening occurs. The products are consumed when warm along with salads and sauces during lunch and dinner, and at tea times. The product has an attractive taste, smoky flavour and juicy mouthfeel that is liked by the consumers. In an alternative process, the marinated pieces are directly shallow fried (instead of putting in a tandoor) in a pan with a small quantity of oil; the appearance of the black patches on the surface marks the end of the cooking/frying process as it happens with tandoor-processed chicken. Often, another addition of marinated pastes is done to make them attractive.

Tandoori paneer tikka is prepared similarly to tandoori chicken. The raw material in this preparation is small pieces of paneer (Indian cottage cheese) instead of meat pieces. The ready-to-eat product has a soft chewy texture and an attractive salt-spicy taste. The shelf life of paneer tikka is hardly one day at room temperature, and thus affects large-scale production and proper marketing. The low shelf-life of paneer tikka is mainly due to microbial and physicochemical changes; the high moisture content of the product also affects the shelf life. The appropriate moisture content of the product is about 47% while the water activity is also high (0.97-0.98). The packaging with LLDPE/BA/Nylon-6/BA/LDPE, vacuum packaging and storing at 3°C has been reported to be suitable to have about 1 month of shelf-life.