Do-it-yourself tandoor oven. How to make a brick tandoor? What is tandoor made of?

A tandoor is a Turkish outdoor oven with a rounded shape, the main purpose of which is to prepare dishes by baking them. You can bake bread, flatbreads, cook meat and other equally delicious dishes in it. In this article we will look at the stages of building a tandoor oven with our own hands from brick. Historically, the tandoor oven was made of clay and was a portable hearth that nomadic tribes took on campaigns. But over time, with the advent of settled tribes, the stove took on more powerful dimensions with stationary placement.

Today they come in two types, stationary and portable, the construction of which is mainly carried out from brickwork with clay mortar. The stationary type of tandoor is divided into two subtypes: pit and above-ground, the construction of which is carried out using underground and above-ground methods. Having your own home, you can build a tandoor in your yard, although this is not an easy task. In order to understand how to make a tandoor from brick with your own hands, you need to understand the principle and structure of the stove.

A tandoor is a clay vessel (or made of brickwork) with a shape rounded at the top, like a jug.

Tandoor device:

  • At the bottom of the structure there is a blower, which provides traction during the combustion process. The fuel can be firewood, coal, brushwood. There is a hole at the top through which fuel is added and dishes are installed.
  • The clay vessel is lined with a brick frame on the outside, and a layer is filled in between them thermal insulation material, for long-term heat preservation, which uses sand, clay, salt and others.

Principle of operation:

  • The heat released during the combustion of fuel is accumulated, the walls of the oven are heated to a temperature of 250–400 degrees, which makes it possible to cook food, for example, flatbreads, directly on the walls of the oven. The oven is in working order for three to four hours, since temperature conditions will be preserved throughout this time. This time is enough to prepare two dishes.
  • Thanks to the design of the stove, the accumulated heat does not escape outside, but remains inside it, being evenly distributed. Which allows you to cook delicious, unique food. To ensure uniform frying of food, the oven opening can be covered with a lid.
  • For convenience in cooking, a special grill is used, but which can be used not only for meat, but also for other equally tasty products.
  • The disadvantage of the tandoor is that the removal of ash residues must be carried out through the upper hole.

Due to the tightness of the structure and maintaining a uniform temperature throughout the entire cooking process, drying out of the products does not occur. Shish kebab made in such ovens is much tastier than cooked on a barbecue or grill.

Construction of a tandoor oven with your own hands from brick

Like any construction process, the construction of a brick tandoor consists of several stages. It is recommended to produce it during the warm period of the year, since the masonry mortar retains its functions and structure only at above-zero temperatures.
How to build a stove, main steps.

Project

The first step is to create a project for building a furnace. It includes:

  • The choice of location is carried out according to the following criteria:
  • the area should have the lowest humidity;
  • the location of the stove should be away from the house and garden plantings;
  • the place should not be on a hill;

Having picked up suitable option, the selected area must be removed and well leveled.

  • Choosing the type of tandoor, which can be horizontal or vertical.
  • Drawing up a drawing of the planned furnace and the foundation for it, indicating all the parameters.
  • According to the drawings, a preliminary calculation of the required building materials is made.
  • Drawings are necessary not only for preparing the material, but also for preliminary calculation of the cost of building a tandoor.

Preparation

The next stage is the preparation of materials and tools needed during the construction process. To build a brick tandoor with your own hands you will need the following materials:

  • fireclay refractory bricks, the quantity of which depends on the size of the furnace, on average up to 1 thousand pieces;
  • for different mortar compositions, you need fireclay clay, sand, crushed stone and cement.

Required equipment:

  • lattice or reinforcement necessary for pouring the foundation;
  • a piece of asbestos pipe, which is necessary to make a blower;
  • wooden blanks for assembling a template according to which the walls will be laid. Without a template, it is almost impossible to make a circle of the correct shape and the upper arch;
  • a shovel, trowel, and level are necessary throughout the entire construction process.

Foundation

The third stage is the construction of the foundation for the tandoor. It is necessary for the stability of the furnace. The type of foundation depends on the soil on which the tandoor is planned to be built. If the soil is clayey, the foundation will need to be reinforced and it is best to use a columnar one. For sandy soil, it will be enough to cast a monolithic slab.

Foundation pouring technology:

  • A hole is dug, the diameter of which should be slightly larger than the size of the future furnace.
  • The depth of the hole must be dug taking into account the laying of the sand cushion and the thickness of the poured slab, on average it is 15–20 cm.
  • Having leveled the bottom of the hole, it is filled up sand cushion, 10 cm thick and compacts well.

  • A reinforcement grid is laid on top of the sand and filled with concrete mortar; to strengthen the foundation, a layer of crushed stone can be poured before laying the reinforcement; it should also be compacted.

  • In order for the foundation to rise above ground level, formwork is made, with its exposure to the surface by an average of 10–15 cm. This arrangement of the foundation prevents the masonry from being washed away by rainfall.
  • After pouring the solution, the surface must be well leveled and checked with a building level.

Foundation solution:

  • 3 parts sand
  • 1/3rd part of gravel (fraction size no more than 1 cm);
  • 1/3 cement.

After kneading these components, the consistency should be like thick sour cream.

Setting time for concrete is 72 hours. It takes at least 7–10 days for it to dry completely.

Important! During the drying process of concrete summer period, the surface must be moistened to prevent cracks and chips.

Base

Let's move on to the construction of the tandoor. The first thing that needs to be done is the base of the furnace, for the laying of which special bricks are used. It has great endurance to elevated temperatures and does not absorb moisture, and due to its dense structure it can withstand heavy loads. The advantages of fireclay bricks also include its resistance to temperature changes, making it ideal for the construction of outdoor kilns.

Before laying fireclay bricks on a concrete foundation, it is necessary to lay a waterproofing layer, which can be a sheet of roofing material.

The base is made in the shape of a circle. Therefore, you first need to use a special pattern to draw the boundaries of the circle.

The bricks are laid out in order, and at the end of the laying, unnecessary parts and corners are cut off using a cutting wheel, forming a round, even base.

Walls

Construction brick walls is the most critical stage in the construction of the furnace.

Brick wall laying technology:

  • Before starting work, it is necessary to assemble a wooden template, with the help of which the correct shape of the furnace circumference will be adjusted.
  • The laying of bricks begins at the base of the furnace, which are installed on their end in a vertical position.

  • The masonry is held together with a kiln mortar, the base of which is fireclay clay, quartz sand and a plasticizer. In order for all the elements of the structure to hold tightly together, it is necessary a large number of solution.
  • Having laid the first row, a small gap is left for the future blower; to do this, we insert an asbestos pipe in which it will be necessary to install a valve to adjust the draft.
  • For a stove whose height is 1.2 meters, it is enough to lay out 4 rows of bricks (with the condition of vertical laying).
  • Each row, after laying them, is tied together with wire, the ends of which must be hidden in one of the seams.
  • The last row of bricks is laid at a certain slope, inside the furnace, forming its neck. To do this, it is recommended to trim the brick using a grinder.

Finishing

Finishing work is final stage construction. This includes coating the inner surface of the oven with clay mortar, and finishing the outside with natural stone.

The clay coating layer on the inner surface must be at least 10 cm. The upper edge is made in the form of a roller.

After finishing the coating process, the structure must be allowed to dry thoroughly. To protect the structure from external factors environment such as rain or sun rays, it is recommended to cover the structure with cellophane for this period.

External finishing can be done in different ways; for better heat retention, a square brick frame is built outside the structure, and the gaps between the outer surface of the stove and the frame are filled with clay mortar. This method not only serves as a heat insulator, but also gives the stove an aesthetic appearance. A roof is not provided for the tandoor, since when the fuel burns, the fire rises high above the boundaries of the hole.

Since a tandoor cannot have a roof, a special iron lid of any shape is made to fit the size of its opening. It not only prevents the entry of debris and sediment, but also promotes uniform heat distribution during the cooking process.

Kiln firing

After the construction and drying of the kiln is completed, it must be fired before use. The firing process is carried out gradually. The first firing is performed with a small amount of brushwood to warm up and finally dry the solution.

The next two firings are performed over a longer period, at a higher temperature.

After three firings, the structure can be used.

Features when using the oven

The rules for using a tandoor are simple, the main thing is caution and lack of haste.

  • When lighting the stove for the first time, it is recommended to raise the temperature gradually. To do this, dry firewood is placed in the oven, accounting for two-thirds of the entire structure. They should be ignited through a blower.
  • Cooking products are loaded after complete combustion of fuel. Having evenly distributed the coals along the bottom of the tandoor, you can start cooking. One ignition is enough to prepare two dishes.

  • Checking the readiness of the stove is done by running a stick along the inner surface of the stove; if the soot on it disappears and the wall is clean, the stove is ready for use.
  • In the case of preparing flat cakes, the walls of the oven must first be cleaned of soot and ash accumulated from previous kindlings. It is in such ovens that the famous Uzbek flatbreads are baked.
  • The degree of readiness can be adjusted using a blower.
  • After finishing cooking, in order to cool the tandoor as quickly as possible, under no circumstances should you pour water on the walls, as large cracks will appear. The tandoor must cool down on its own.

To summarize the above, we can answer the question of how to make a tandoor from brick at home. The construction process is divided into several stages, each of which has its own nuances. The main stage is the laying of walls, which requires a responsible approach and fulfillment of all necessary requirements. The final shape of the furnace should be in the shape of a dome. By fulfilling all the requirements and listening to the recommendations of experts, the tandoor oven will last for a long time.

In addition to the article, we recommend watching a video on making a brick tandoor with your own hands:

Tandoor is an eastern type of oven made in the form of a three-dimensional jug. It allows you to replace a large and bulky barbecue in your summer cottage. They cook here different types, dishes ranging from kebabs to flatbreads with herbs.

A tandoor for a summer residence is an indispensable attribute, which is used as decoration and cooking. Modern technologies They offer a huge number of models of this oven. They differ in their appearance and size.

How to make a tandoor oven with your own hands? How to choose the right material and manufacturing technology for this structure? The answers to all these questions are rearranged in our detailed guide.


Selection of consumables

Before choosing tandoor drawings, it is recommended to decide on consumables, from which the furnace structure will be built. These include:

  • chess brick. It is used for the construction of walls. The thickness of each element should reach about 10 cm wide. For the initial claque you will need from 400 to 1500 pieces. ceramic product;
  • construction composition. Here you will need sifted river sand, clay. This masonry mixture has high fire resistance to high temperatures;
  • the foundation must be made of concrete and additional reinforcement;
  • the blower must be made of metal pipe diameter from 50 to 100 mm;
  • wooden boards for making rough cornice. This design will allow you to correctly lay out the initial masonry.

The process of making tandoor at home

Making the right tandoor for a summer house takes too much time. On average, it takes from 1 to 2 months to build. The construction process includes several main stages. These include:

Foundation. Here it is important to make a high-quality support base that will allow this structure to be used for its intended purpose.


In addition, a solid foundation helps to withstand rare temperature changes. It is erected in a pre-prepared pit. At the bottom of the recess, a metal structure is made into which concrete will be poured.

Making a template. This measure will allow you to maintain the same radius during the laying of brick elements. The distance between each arch should be 28 cm.

Laying process. When the foundation is completely dry, begin laying bricks. The initial level is fixed on a thick layer of building composition. Each stone is aligned using a wooden template. It is carefully moved after each laid stone element.

Next, proceed to the second row. It is performed using the same technology. This continues until the 4th row of the structure. Upper layer laid at a slight angle. The result is a barrel-shaped structure with a spacious middle and a thin neck.


Kiln firing. The outer side is coated with a thin layer of clay composition. The consistency of the material should resemble plasticine. After this, a small amount of salt is placed in it. It will prevent cracks from appearing during the firing process.

Before applying the protective layer, the structure is generously moistened with water. Now they start firing. Solid hardwood wood is used here. They burn more and produce a minimal amount of ash.

The container is filled 2/3 of the height of the stone product. When the wood begins to burn actively, it is left until completely burned out. During the smoldering process, the coals are covered with a metal lid and left to cool on their own. The photo of the tandoor shows an illustration of the working process.

Additional accessories

When the oven is fully completed, you can make additional paraphernalia that will facilitate the cooking process. These include:

  • Multi-level grid - barbecue. It is used for cooking fish, mushrooms or meat sausages;
  • Barbecue attachment. It is a metal structure, on the sides of which there are additional notches. During the process of frying meat, the skewer is fixed in these cuts. This will prevent metal elements from heating up during the heating process;
  • Nozzle for lavash. She attaches the dough piece to the side. It is a mesh product that is fixed with long hooks.

Photo of brick tandoor

Tandoor is one of the oldest designs for a hearth used for cooking. It has a proven history of existence of more than five thousand years. In traditional regions of distribution - from Mesopotamia in ancient times, to the vast regions of Asia Minor and Central Asia, Transcaucasia, right up to Japan, it is still used today as universal oven, suitable for baking bread (flatbread), samsa, cooking meat dishes on skewers and grills, and traditional soups. Despite the extreme simplicity of the design, building a tandoor takes quite a lot of time and requires some skills.

What is this article about?

The principle of the tandoor

There are several options for tandoor:

  • Vertical - representing a truncated cone, tapering upward, in which the central axis is oriented vertically;
  • Horizontal - in which the wide hole is located on the side, and the axis is oriented parallel to the surface of the earth.
  • Buried in the ground.


Depending on the design, the use of tandoor varies. Vertical ones are more versatile. They are convenient for cooking barbecue, roasting poultry or game, and cooking soups and stews. Horizontal tandoors are used exclusively for baking local varieties of bread - flatbreads.

In regions of traditional use, the tandoor is made from local clay and is a fired, thick-walled clay vessel, shaped like a wide pot with a tapering neck.

In the conditions of central Russia, it is difficult to make such a tandoor due to the climate. Clay dries unevenly; the upper layers dry faster than the inner layers. When fired, the vessel cracks. Therefore, the most widespread among lovers of Central Asian and Caucasian food are tandoors made of local stone or brick.

Tandoor lined with bricks

The simplest way is to use finished product, purchased in a store or brought from a Central Asian republic. But the disadvantage of such a tandoor is its mobility and fragility.

A tandoor can simply be stolen or broken at a country house or garden plot in the absence of the owners. Therefore, it makes sense to cover the tandoor with bricks, turning it into a fixed structure that is not subject to vandalism.

For lining there are ready-made tandoors, which look simpler and of course cheaper.

The principle of constructing such a tandoor is extremely simple. Does not require curved masonry. It is enough to lay out a rectangular brick box. Place the finished tandoor inside, and fill the gaps between the outer wall of the tandoor and the inner surface of the brickwork with salt or sand. Salt is preferable due to its higher heat capacity.

To protect the filler from moisture, the masonry is covered with a stone (granite, tuff, marble) slab with a hole for the neck of the grill.

Brick tandoor

Brick tandoors are typical for the republics of Transcaucasia (Armenia), where they are called tanyrs. The technology of their construction differs from lining a finished tandoor with bricks.

Base – reinforced concrete slab or a separate foundation. The principle of foundation construction is common to all types of furnaces and presented in a separate article.

To make the tandoor perfectly round, a template must be made. This is a stick (a piece of pipe) 1–1.5 meters long with a figured “petal” cut out of plywood attached to it. Before laying begins, the template is installed vertically into the base of the tandoor. After this, it rotates around its axis and bricks are laid along it. The image below shows what this template looks like.

Features of masonry

The foundation is covered with a layer of waterproofing. A circle is drawn on it with chalk equal in diameter to the outer diameter of the tandoor. To lay out the base (hearth), heat-resistant fireclay bricks and fireclay clay are used. To give the base a round shape, the bricks are cut with a grinder using a stone disc.

Lay out two rows under. The bricks of the second row should overlap the bricks of the first row by half a brick.

After this, a hole is drilled in the center into which the template is installed.

Bricks for walls are first laid out “dry”. The bricks are installed on a short edge so that the thickness of the tandoor walls is equal to ½ brick.

The first 2 rows of bricks are installed strictly vertically.

After laying out dry. Let's start with the actual laying.

To do this, sequentially remove one brick from the masonry. Soak it in a bath of water until no more air bubbles are released. After this, they are coated with clay mortar on three sides and installed in place. And so on around the circle. The template is periodically rotated around its axis so as not to disturb the geometry of the masonry. The second row is laid out in the same way, with an offset of ½ brick relative to the first row.

After this, the wide spaces between the outer ends of the bricks are rubbed with masonry mortar and left for 1-2 weeks until completely dry. In rainy weather, cover with film.

A classic tandoor has no holes in the walls. But, for ease of maintenance - adding firewood, cleaning coals and ash, many people arrange a “blower” in the first row of the masonry. It can be arched or simply a piece of steel (cast iron) pipe with a diameter of at least 150 mm.

The third and fourth rows have a slope, due to which the upper opening of the tandoor narrows relative to the diameter of the base to 2/3.

For ease of laying, the bricks are pre-cut with a grinder at one end.

The laying is carried out similarly to the first 2 rows, only a template must be used when laying each brick, otherwise the geometry of the tandoor may be disrupted.

Due to the reduction in diameter, the bricks of the 4th row are shifted when laying relative to the bricks of the 3rd row by 1/3.

4-row standard grill ceramic bricks has a height of 125–130 cm.

Upon completion of the masonry, it is left to dry for 1–2 weeks.

Tandoor coating

For coating, prepare a solution from fatty clay with a small addition of sand and salt at the rate of 1 glass per bucket of solution. The solution should have the consistency of softened plasticine.

When building “classic” tandoors in Central Asia and the Caucasus, chopped goat hair or cropped horse hair is added to the solution. After the start of use, the wool burns out, and the surface of the coating acquires a finely porous structure. The tandoor “breathes”. Its heat-insulating properties increase.

In the conditions of central Russia, wool can be replaced with finely chopped straw, but the quality of the inner surface of the tandoor will be worse.

A rounded roller is placed along the upper edge of the clay masonry. It protects against injury from the sharp edges of the brick when cleaning and placing cakes on the walls of the tandoor.

The thickness of the internal coating should not exceed 10 mm. Otherwise, when fired, it may crack and crumble.

The outer surface of the oven is coated with the same solution. It can be decorated natural stone, ceramic tiles, tiles.

Tandoor firing

After the coating has dried naturally (at least 2 weeks) begin firing.

Start by placing a small amount of paper or wood chips on the bottom of the tandoor. After the end of open burning, cover the tandoor with a lid and allow it to cool completely.

The refill of firewood is doubled.

At least 3–4 firings are carried out. The final firing is carried out with the addition of such a quantity of firewood (coal) that after the cessation of open burning, the smoldering coals fill the internal volume of the tandoor by 2/3.

After this, the tandoor is suitable for use.

Optional equipment

For a tandoor, a lid must be made from thick sheet metal 4–5 mm, the diameter of the cover should be 25–40 mm larger than the outer diameter of the roller.

To use the tandoor as an oven for preparing first courses and kebabs, a circle equal to the diameter of the lid is made from the same sheet metal. A hole is cut in the center equal to diameter the bottom of the cauldron or pan that will be used for cooking. Radially from the central hole, a metal disk is used to cut slots to a depth of 70–100 mm. You can insert skewers with kebabs into them. Barbecue lovers can place a removable stainless steel grate on the surface of the tandoor.

For simmering dishes, the tandoor is equipped with a hanging platform on steel chains. Dishes with food are placed on the platform and lowered inside the tandoor. After this, close the lid.

Despite the simplicity of the design, building a tandoor takes a long time. Its construction on the site should begin with the onset of the first warm days so that by mid-summer the tandoor can be used fully functional.

Cooking over hot coals has long been a tradition for holidaymakers. Used for cooking over charcoal various designs, the most popular of which are grill, barbecue and grill. In addition, today a device that is unusual for a European view and understanding is gaining increasing popularity - a Central Asian stove called a “tandoor”.

The peoples of Central Asia (especially residents of Uzbekistan) prepare many dishes in the tandoor: Uzbek flatbreads, shish kebab, meat called “tandyr-gusht” (meat from the tandoor), poultry and Uzbek puff pastry pies called “samsa”. The taste of food cooked in a tandoor is unforgettable. This is why many Russians want to build a tandoor at their dacha with their own hands.

Tandoor device

Before designing and building this structure, it is necessary to carefully study the structure of the tandoor. It will be very difficult to build it with your own hands without experience and understanding of how this stove works.

A tandoor is a hollow clay jug that tapers towards the top. In the center of the top of this device there is big hole, where coal and dishes that will be cooked there are placed. At the bottom there is a blower with a special damper that provides traction. The clay base of the tandoor is often lined with bricks to improve thermal insulation. Materials that accumulate heat are poured between the brick and clay: salt, sand or clay.

The working principle of the traditional Uzbek tandoor

When coal is burned, the walls of the tandoor heat up to temperatures from 250 °C to 400 °C. The high temperature in such a furnace can be maintained for up to 6 hours, due to the good thermal insulation properties of clay. As long as the oven maintains a high temperature, you can cook any food. Food is prepared by heat transfer inside the tandoor. Thanks to the even temperature inside, dishes are cooked evenly and very efficiently.

Only after studying this information can you move on to finding an answer to the question of how to build a tandoor with your own hands in a country house.

Classification of tandoor types

Tandoors are shaped like:

  • horizontal;
  • vertical.

Also divided by areas of application:


Construction methods

In accordance with traditional Central Asian technology, a tandoor is not built with one’s own hands, but is sculpted from kaolin clay of Akhangaran origin. Akhangaran is a small town in Uzbekistan, which has been famous for its soil since ancient times. In order to protect the oven from cracks from the inside under the influence of high temperature, it is necessary to add a small amount of camel or sheep wool to the kaolin clay. To make a classic Uzbek tandoor from clay with your own hands, you need to have patience and sufficient skill. The thing is that Eastern masters of modeling do not disclose the exact composition of the clay, so when building such an unusual stove you will have to experiment and do a lot by eye.

Approximate construction technology

As mentioned earlier, each master has his own secret for building a tandoor, which remains secret and is passed on only to family members. That is why the question of how to make a tandoor with your own hands does not have an exact answer. But the approximate technology for sculpting a stove looks like this:

  • Kaolin clay is mixed with wool, cut into thin fibers 10-15 mm long. The mixture of clay and wool should be viscous, similar to sour cream.
  • The mixture made in order to build a tandoor oven with your own hands should sit for a week in a dark place. This is done so that the clay composition dries evenly. You need to monitor the mixture throughout the week. If water accumulates on top, it is better to drain it and mix the composition without water. But it is also necessary to take into account the fact that the less water in the mixture, the greater the likelihood that the tandoor will soon become covered with cracks.
  • A week after the mixture has settled, you can begin to sculpt small sheets from the resulting clay plasticine with a thickness of 5 to 15 cm. From these the tandoor is formed. Classic sizes Such a furnace has long been known: height 1-1.5 m, diameter to the narrowed part - 1 m, hole diameter - 50-60 cm.
  • The molded product should be left to dry for at least several weeks.
  • After complete drying, you need to cover the clay walls with bricks. The mortar for fixing the bricks will be kaolin clay. Between the walls of the tandoor and the layer of brick you need to pour sand, clay or salt.
  • Cooking device inside delicious dishes need to be thoroughly coated with cotton oil.
  • After this, you can start firing the tandoor. The firing temperature increases gradually and very slowly. The entire firing process can last up to two days. Such a slow process is due to the fact that when the clay is quickly fired, cracks may appear on it.

A simplified way to build a tandoor

Many of those who already know how to build a tandoor with their own hands admit that it is very difficult to build one without experience and skills. As a result, it turns out uneven, and when fired it begins to crack. That is why craftsmen created a simplified version of such a miracle stove. It is called simplified because it is formed around wooden barrel, which allows you to maintain its even shape.

To build a simplified tandoor with your own hands, drawings of which can be found if desired (they are freely available), you will need the following materials: kaolin, fireclay sand, wool, a wooden barrel with metal hoops and vegetable oil.

The barrel needs to be filled with water and left for several days so that the wood becomes saturated and swells. Next, the clay must be mixed with sand and wool in the following proportion: for 1 unit of clay, 2 units of sand and 0.05 wool. The mixture should be allowed to sit for several days. After this, the water is drained from the barrel, and a thick layer of vegetable oil is applied to its inner surface.

After the clay mixture has settled, it can be applied to inner part barrels in a thick layer (5-7 cm). When the barrel is completely covered with clay, you need to leave the tandoor in a dry place in the shade to dry for up to one month. During the drying process, wooden staves will begin to come off the barrel. When they come off completely, you can remove the metal hoops and free the finished tandoor from the barrel.

The furnace is installed on a thick layer of sand. After this procedure, you need to carry out another one - firing. To do this, light a weak fire inside the tandoor, which should burn for about 6 hours. After this time, cover the oven with a lid and turn on high heat. That's all, you can brag to your friends that you made a simplified tandoor with your own hands. They will surely be happy to try the dishes cooked in your new miracle oven!

Making a tandoor out of brick with your own hands

As mentioned above, a Central Asian stove made by beginners will very quickly crack and lose its original shape. It is for this purpose that everyone who wants to have this unique thing is offered an easier way - to build a tandoor with their own hands from brick.

To do this you will need the following materials:

  • oven mixture for bricklaying;
  • kaolin clay;
  • sand, concrete and reinforcing mesh for foundation construction;
  • wooden template frame.

To build the foundation of a brick tandoor, you need to dig a round hole with a diameter slightly larger than the future product. At the bottom of the pit, a sand cushion 10-20 cm thick is prepared. metal grid from wire and fittings. Next, concrete is poured there. It is necessary to ensure that the concrete layer is even and horizontal. After pouring the concrete, you need to wait a week for it to set to the surface and gain strength.

After a week, you can begin laying bricks, which is done in a circle of the pre-determined diameter of the tandoor. Typically, the diameter of the tandoor is 1 m. The bricks are installed on the end, and the circumference of the future tandoor is formed on the basis of a wooden template frame. Further laying of bricks is carried out using a mortar prepared on the basis of a refractory mixture (it consists of quartz sand, kaolite clay and plasticizers). Such a solution has high level fire resistance, and it is also plastic and does not crack when fired. At the bottom of the tandoor you need to leave a hole for the blower. An ordinary chimney can be used as a blower.

After laying the brick, the tandoor must be coated with a 5-centimeter layer of kaolite clay with internal and outside. To give the stove an aesthetic appearance, you can line the outside with multi-colored stones.

After this, the brick tandoor is fired. To do this, you need to light a fire inside and gradually increase the temperature to 400 °C.

From a plastic barrel

To build this type of tandoor, you will need a plastic barrel of the usual shape. As in the case of building a product based on a wooden barrel, a plastic vessel must be filled with water so that the barrel increases in size. Then fireclay mortar is applied to its outer side, compacted and smoothed. It is recommended to carry out the operation of tamping and smoothing until a clear contour of the tandoor is formed. Next, you need to let the creation dry for several weeks. When the drying process is complete, the water is drained from the barrel and the barrel itself is removed from the clay mold.

Pit (earth) tandoor oven

Were described above different technologies and options with which you can build a tandoor with your own hands. Another very interesting variety The Uzbek stove is considered to be the so-called pit, or earthen tandoor, which is built in a hole dug specially for this purpose.

The construction technology is as follows:

  • First you need to dig a hole in the ground and lay a pipe to it, through which the air necessary to maintain the fire will flow into the tandoor itself.
  • One row of bricks is laid at the bottom of the pit, the seams of which are filled with kaolite clay. After this, the pipe is placed in the pit at an angle of 45°. The pipe should be installed so that its lower edge is 5 cm from the brickwork.
  • The walls are constructed from brickwork. The brick must be laid so that inner diameter The tandoor was 50 cm, and its depth was at least three rows of brickwork. The seams formed during brick laying should also be filled with kaolite clay.
  • The top row of brickwork should be coated with a layer of clay. It is recommended to apply the clay composition using reinforced mesh.
  • Next, a tandoor dome is constructed, which must be at least 2 cm thick. For this, a basin is taken. For structural strength, it is necessary to carry out mesh reinforcement. After this, you need to coat it with clay and let it dry well. When the clay has dried, the dome is removed and placed on the foundation pit.
  • The seams formed when connecting the dome and bricks are covered with kaolite clay.
  • Now you need to make a hatch for the pipe to shut off the air while the stove is firing. Finally, a mixture of expanded clay and cement mortar needs to be poured around the dome.

Following this technology will allow you to build an earthen tandoor with your own hands. You can see a photo of such a product in the article. Before construction, you should carefully study what an Uzbek earthen stove looks like.

Dishes you can cook

After making your own tandoor has been successfully completed, you can think about dishes that are prepared in the tandoor. In land-based ovens, Uzbek flatbreads and pies made from lamb and potatoes called “samsa” are mainly produced.

Traditional Uzbek dishes are prepared in pit tandoors, such as:

  • tandoor-gusht (lamb meat simmered in an underground tandoor for about three days);
  • chicken fillet;
  • kebabs;
  • some varieties of Uzbek pilaf;
  • leg of lamb;
  • tandoor kebab;
  • sausages in tandoor;
  • boiled pork in tandoor;
  • classic lula kebab.

In addition, after the construction of a tandoor, lovers of culinary delights are given scope to express their imagination. You just have to remember that in such an oven you can cook absolutely all vegetables and types of meat, as well as some dough products. Large pieces of meat can only be successfully cooked in such a device. It all depends only on how skilled the person is when cooking in this wonderful Uzbek oven, which appeared in ancient times and is still in use today.

Additional equipment needed for cooking

To prepare some types of dishes in a tandoor, you may need some equipment. For example:

  • a round hanger with a hook to support the meat;
  • grooves for holding a round suspension;
  • a metal frame attached to the suspension (it is needed so that it is convenient to attach bowls to the tandoor).

These assistive devices will help you prepare delicious and high-quality food in an oriental oven.

Use in different countries

The tandoor is used in many countries of the East, but it is the Uzbek tandoor that is considered canonical. In other states there are also interesting facts related to the use of this stove.

Thus, only earthen tandoor is popular in Azerbaijan. Previously, it was used not only to prepare various dishes, but also to heat living quarters during the cold season.

In India, tandoor is called "tandoor". The design itself is used for preparing exclusively meat dishes. The most popular Indian dish cooked in a tandoor is tandoori chicken.

In Central Asia, both ordinary tandoors and earthen ones are used in equal quantities. Each type prepares different dishes.

In Caucasian countries, as well as in Iran, the tandoor is used as an oven for preparing traditional lavash.

Above are some of the most popular ways to build such a device yourself. The methods and construction options given in the article most fully answer the question of how to make a tandoor with your own hands. Of course, there are more complicated versions, but they are made only in some villages of Central Asia, and the design and materials are kept in the strictest confidence from all strangers.

When burned, the fuel heats the clay located between the side elements of the device to a temperature of 250-400 degrees. Such indicators are maintained inside the structure for up to 4 hours due to the good properties of the rock to retain heat.

Cooking occurs as follows. Mounted skewers or grates are installed inside the oven. Products such as meat, fish, and vegetables are placed on them.

And if you don’t know how to bake flatbreads in a tandoor, we will recommend one cooking method. After the clay walls heat up, it is necessary to wipe them from possible dust or combustion products. Then you need to sprinkle the side elements with water and attach the dough products to them. Baking occurs due to the heat accumulated in the walls. You can remove bread from the oven using a long-handled hook or a special ladle.

In this unique oven, food is cooked through the heat of the clay walls, which accumulates during the combustion of fuel. Thanks to this, food is cooked evenly on all sides and retains its juiciness. Cooking dishes on skewers does not require turning, since these elements are located vertically. The process of cooking food in a tandoor is much faster than in other traditional grills or barbecues.

Varieties

Modern garden units have various modifications: they can be stationary or portable, with a vertical or horizontal neck.

Summer residents use the classic type of unit for frying barbecue or any other meat dishes. Modernized tandoors with a vertical neck position provide the ability to prepare any food. In the regions of Central Asia, a device with a horizontal hole is common, which is suitable for frying flatbreads and samsa.

The main advantage of the vertical position of the neck is the fact that such a stove is equipped with a firebox. It can have a diameter of 200 mm and be located in the lower side wall.

The convenience of the device for burning fuel is obvious. To heat the stove, there is no need to lean towards the hole with your whole body. After the tandoor has heated up, its neck is covered with a damper, and the food is cooked as usual. You can remove burnt wood by simply opening the valve.

A stove with a vertical neck can be easily moved if there is a special platform.

This design should have at least one pair of swivel wheels for better maneuverability. An old garden cart would be an ideal platform.

Modifications of units

Modern manufacturers offer designs to suit every taste. Today, stoves with a forged design are quite in demand, which makes the structures attractive and also gives them some protection. With this design, the tandoor is pleasant to use both in dachas and in restaurants and open-air cafes.

You can make the structure yourself using clay, bricks or flower pot. Such devices are actively purchased in online stores and offline outlets. Modern modifications of furnaces are represented by the following varieties.

Electric tandoor "Master"

Options:

  • height with lid – 0.7 m;
  • without cover – 0.62 m;
  • diameter – 0.53 m.

The kit contains the following elements:

  • waste tray;
  • stainless steel skewers – 6 pcs.;
  • shelf device for meat and vegetables;
  • power cord

The weight of the oven is 70 kg, its power is 1.9 kW. The device is powered from a network with a voltage of 220 V. The price of an electric tandoor is 60 thousand rubles.

Portable tandoor "Sarmat Nomad"

This type of stove is characterized by compactness and ease of transportation.

Options:

  • height with lid – 0.63 m;
  • without cover – 0.4 m;
  • diameter – 0.43 m;
  • neck diameter – 0.18 m.
  • grate;
  • poker, scoop;
  • grate mounts.

The unit weighs 50 kg and costs 12 thousand rubles.

Ceramic tandoor "Sarmat Premium Big"

Options:

  • height with lid – 1.05 m;
  • without cover – 0.7 m;
  • diameter – 0.6 m;
  • neck diameter – 0.22 m.

The kit includes the following items:

  • grate;
  • guide for skewers “sun”;
  • stainless steel skewers – 8 pcs.;
  • poker, scoop;
  • grate mounts.

The tandoor weighs 130 kg. Its price is 18.5 thousand rubles.

Site for the unit

If you are planning to build a tandoor oven at your summer cottage, then first of all you need to decide.

Whatever the device, traditional Central Asian or modern portable, the best location is considered to be the eastern part summer cottage. Outbuildings, country house, fruit trees and bushes must be at least 10 m away from the selected site. It is advisable that the area be extremely flat, since it requires the construction of a clay foundation for the stove.

If necessary, the foundation for the platform can be deepened into the ground.

For the safety of the structure and those around it, the tandoor is located away from gas pipes and electrical wiring. The area around the unit must be cleared of leaves and rags.

As a rule, the tandoor is installed outdoors, but it can also be placed under the roof or in summer kitchen, providing the structure with a chimney.

A purchased unit is not a cheap pleasure. However, you can make such a stove from scrap materials yourself. To implement this idea, a minimum of time and effort is required.

Clay aggregate

Masters of stove making do not build tandoors, but sculpt them from clay. The special material for traditional stoves is of Akhangaran origin with good heat-retaining properties. To prevent the mixture from cracking when high temperatures, stove makers mixed sheep or camel wool into it. The composition of the rock and its components is a secret of the old masters, which they carefully hide. Therefore, it is impossible to make a stove using traditional Asian technology yourself. There is only one way out - experiment.

To get a more complete picture, print out a drawing of a clay tandoor lined with bricks and use it when constructing the equipment.

Below is a technology for sculpting a device with your own hands, which you should follow:


Oven option that can be transported

For construction portable type tandoor, you need to prepare the following elements:

  • large outdoor flower pot;
  • middle vessel;
  • small container with holes in the bottom;
  • a metal disk with a hole in the middle (you can take a weight from a barbell);
  • decorative stones for flowers;
  • hacksaw.

The process of making a device with your own hands consists of several successive steps:


For more details, watch the video:

Brick tandoor

If you wish, you can make a stationary brick oven with your own hands at your summer cottage.

Its construction will require more effort than the construction of a portable clay device. It is required to prepare the following materials in advance:

  • fireclay brick;
  • oven solution;
  • kaolin or;
  • concrete, sand, reinforcement;
  • wooden frame - template.

The tandoor order presented below will help when laying bricks.

Facts to consider during installation:

  1. Refractory bricks based on clay mortar or a special oven mixture should form the basis of the inside of the oven. It is used to make under, vault and back wall. The inside of the device must be of a size that allows you to reach all parts of the oven with your hand.
  2. It is customary to make the vault of a tandoor arched, which is a rather difficult task. Therefore, it is possible to make a rectangular ceiling. When constructing it, you cannot use metal bookmarks, since metal and brick have different meaning coefficients of expansion under thermal influence.
  3. As a rule, the block is laid on the edge, which helps save heat. However, masonry using the one-brick method is considered more in an economical way. In any case, it is important to know how to handle a grinder in order to grind the material if necessary.
  4. A plywood blank will help make the walls of the unit even. For the template, you need to select short bars comparable to the diameter of the tandoor, a long product and a plastic piece of plywood. To make a template, short products should be attached to a long bar, taking into account the reduction in the radius of the furnace walls. A sheet of wood-laminated board is fixed on top. Plywood blank installed in the center of the base. With its help, bricks are placed in a circle.
  5. To prevent the laid structure from being mowed down, each row should be checked for level and tied with wire, which is removed after the solution has hardened.
  6. To round off the tandoor oven using the brick-width brick laying method, the first block is sawed with a grinder in the shape of a trapezoid. All subsequent products are cut off on one side. If you lay the bars on edge, then the furnace is rounded using a template and cutting the bricks from below.
  7. To attach the skewers, a metal ring is installed, which is put on top of the structure. This element is made removable or attached using clay. Using a grinder, it is recommended to make cuts inside the oven that will be required for laying the skewers.

To make a brick tandoor with your own hands without any snags in the form of a misunderstanding of the sequence of actions, it is most convenient to divide the entire construction process into several stages:

  1. Construction of the foundation. You need to dig a hole with a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the tandoor. A sand cushion 10 cm high is laid on the bottom. For strength, the foundation is lined reinforcement mesh and filled with concrete. The surface is leveled using a rule. The base dries within 1.5-2 weeks.






    Upon completion of the third level, each subsequent row must be narrowed until the neck becomes 0.5 m. This can be done by adjusting the slope of the brick by changing the thickness of the mortar being laid or by trimming the bars with a grinding machine.

  2. Covering the stove with fireclay clay. After the masonry is completed, the outside of the unit is coated with a thick layer of clay. Instead, the device can be covered with ordinary brick. If you stick to traditional methods, you should add sheep's wool to the mixture.
  3. Tandoor firing works. After all layers of the oven have dried, it is necessary to begin heat treatment. To do this, the device is heated in moderate mode, using small armfuls of firewood.
  4. Decoration. To prevent heat from escaping from the device, the outside can be lined with natural decorative stones. Another design method is as follows: install small pebbles between the bars in the seams. A homemade tandoor made of brick must be equipped with a lid and a damper for the blower.

Conclusion

You can prepare delicious kebabs and flatbreads without leaving your summer cottage. To build a tandoor, choose the type of device that you like, purchase materials and follow the procedure.