What clay oven is used to cook many tandoori dishes?

The clay oven used to cook many tandoori dishes is a tandoor.

A tandoor is usually a large, vase-shaped oven made from clay, with charcoal or wood burning inside. Its intense heat cooks food through direct radiant heat, hot air, and smoke. Meat is often suspended on skewers, while flatbreads such as naan are pressed against the oven’s inner wall.

Tandoors have been used across South Asia and neighboring regions for centuries, and the word passed into English through Hindustani and Persian. Tandoori cooking is especially associated with Punjab, where dishes such as tandoori chicken and chicken tikka became widely popular.

The word tandoori describes food cooked in this style; it does not name the oven itself. Traditional ovens may reach about 480°C and can remain lit for long periods. Modern home versions may use metal construction, gas, or electricity, but they imitate the same high-heat cooking method.