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Synonyms

tandoor

American  
[tahn-door] / tɑnˈdʊər /

noun

Indian Cooking.
  • tandoors,
    plural
  • tandoori
    plural
  1. a cylindrical clay oven, fired to a high heat by wood or charcoal, in which foods, especially meats, are cooked and bread is baked.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of tandoor

1655–65; < Hindi, Urdu tandūr < Persian tanūr


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Veeraswamy introduced the UK's first tandoor oven that decade - and a 1959 menu offers chicken tandoori for the equivalent of 52p in pre-decimal currency.

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026

He installed just a few tables and a brilliantly hot well of a tandoor oven, which he learned to man in a sweaty process of trial and error.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2022

It’s an essential component of some of the dishes at Bryant Ng’s Cassia in Santa Monica, where 20% of the dishes are cooked using a wok or a tandoor oven, both powered by gas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2022

These floppy, lightly pickled onions are a traditional accompaniment to grilled and tandoor foods throughout India and the rest of South Asia.

From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2021

We washed our hands and dipped fresh naan from the tandoor into the shorwa—it was the best meal I had had in months.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

Veeraswamy introduced the UK's first tandoor oven that decade - and a 1959 menu offers chicken tandoori for the equivalent of 52p in pre-decimal currency.

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026

Size is also an issue at Tamarind Tribeca, an Indian restaurant in New York that makes tandoori turkey, a variation of the chicken dish also prepared in a vertical oven.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025

When I arrived, only samples of the tandoori tacos were available to try.

From Salon ● Nov. 1, 2024

You can’t miss the charred curds on tandoori chicken, the crisp edges on a lasagna, the ripe flesh of a peach.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 3, 2024

He’s eaten his tandoori roast chicken, but the curried peas and potatoes are piled in a lumpy hill on the side of his plate.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Meanwhile, masalas will continue to get toasted, meats will continue to sizzle on the tandoors, and ghee will continue to glaze rotis in kitchens all over the world.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2021

Two glowing tandoors fuel the lunch crowd at this unpretentious downtown standby, but the most affordable option isn’t wrapped in warm flatbread.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 26, 2017

Ananta, the Oberoi Dubai’s Indian specialty restaurant, boasts a show kitchen with traditional tandoors and specializes in North Indian signature dishes, as well as a daily selection of Indian coastal specialties.

From Forbes ● Dec. 29, 2014

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