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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:

The naan is then placed in a very hot tandoor until it puffs up and brown spots appear.

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025

“In Pakistan, people think the spicier the better,” said the third-generation tandoor owner.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 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

He’d carve notches on our stick with his knife, one notch for each loaf of naan he’d pull for us from the tandoor s roaring flames.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

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

He also recalled how their relationship was sealed "over a tandoori chicken masala, four poppadoms and three pints of lager" after meeting on TV drama The Gambling Man in 1992.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2024

The two families both say that it was their own Kundan who invented butter chicken — the creamy, heavenly marriage of tandoori chicken and tomato gravy beloved everywhere north Indian food is served.

From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024

The apartment is made up of five hot rooms—two bedrooms, one bath, a living room, and a dining room/kitchen—that feel like the inside of a tandoori oven.

From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins

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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