9

Build a tandoor

TUTORIAL

Terracotta literally translates as ‘cooked earth’, and

that’s basically what it is. In its basic form, the surface

is orangey‑red and porous, and it’s this form that you

want. It is possible to get glazed terracotta pots with

a shiny or colourful finish – these particular ones could

cause problems, as the surface coating used may not

be stable at high temperatures, or may not be safe

for food. Even if it is, the glossy surface will affect

the way food cooks, so stick with the basic, raw

terracotta varieties.

One slight issue with these pots is that they’re

slightly porous, which means that they will absorb a

little water if it rains. Obviously, this water will turn

to steam when it gets hot and this may expand more

rapidly than it can escape from the terracotta. Keep

your tandoor covered when not in use, and make sure

it’s dry before firing it up.

The inner chamber of the tandoor is made of

two pots: a small one placed the right way up,

and a slightly larger one placed upside down on

top of it. This creates the egg‑shaped fire and

cooking chamber.

You’ll need a way of getting the food in and out of

the chamber, so you need to remove the base of the

medium‑sized clay pot so that this can lift off and be

used as a lid. Terracotta is fairly soft – at least as far

as ceramics are concerned – which means it’s not

too hard to work with. If you go carefully, you can

cut it with a wood saw, but it will damage your saw

so we wouldn’t really recommend this method. A far

better option is to use a tool with a blade designed for

cutting such materials. We used a Dremel rotary tool

with a suitable cutting disc (Dremel recommends 426

fibreglass reinforced discs for ceramic).

MAKE THE INCISION

Mark out the line that you want to cut. We opted to

go 2.5 cm down from the top, but any height that you

can reach with the cutting disc should work. When

cutting ceramic, we find it easiest to first go around

the entire pot with a shallow cut, then gradually make

this deeper and deeper until it’s gone all the way

through (rather than cutting all the way through in one

place and cutting around the pot). In our experience,

this is a bit less error‑prone.

Make sure you wear eye protection and a dust

mask as it will kick up plenty of small particles (while

this isn’t toxic dust, it’s not good to inhale). It can be a

bit noisy as well, so ear defenders are also useful, and

STAYING SAFE

In this article, we’re making a cooking

container out of terracotta that’s not

classified as food-safe. Flowerpot cooking

is common and recommended by such

culinary luminaries as Jamie Oliver, Alton

Brown, Martha Stewart, and Mary Berry;

however, some people are concerned

about the risk of lead.

Lead has traditionally been used in

ceramic paints and glazes, and almost

all of the concern about lead in ceramics

comes from this. Since we’re using

unpainted and unglazed pots, this isn’t a

problem for us.

It is theoretically possible that the

source of clay is contaminated with lead,

although we’ve been unable to find any

cases where this is confirmed to happen.

However, prudence is advised when it

comes to food-related hacks, and you can

purchase a non-destructive lead testing kit

and check your pots before cooking.

Above

With the ‘lid’ removed,

our tandoor is ready

for assembly