A typically bulbous cylinder-shaped oven traditionally made of fired clay or lined with clay, and which holds a fire at its bottom while flat breads are baked on the interior walls and kebabs are hung and grilled in the center or across the top opening. Similar such ovens developed and are used from Turkey and Iran to India and Bangladesh. Tandoors can produce temperatures to 480 degrees Celsius/900 degrees Fahrenheit and cook by means of dry, direct, convection, and dry heat. Traditionally fueled by wood and charcoal, the tandoor is now made in gas and electrically heated versions as well.
A mixture of spices of red colour used mainly in the Punjab in conjunction with large tandoor ovens. Every household will have its own preferred recipe. Garam masala is more common to northern India, as the "hot spice" are preferred to chillis in the cold winters. In southern Indian vegetarian cooking, the equivalent is sambhar powder and in western India, goda masala and kholombo powder. In Punjab, tandoori masala is the most common, and in Bengal panch phoron.
