When can a ‘pizza oven’ cook up Indian cuisine? The answer to that is ‘when it’s a Valoriani wood-fired oven’, whether that oven is a ready-to-go Fornino oven, one that takes centre stage in a bespoke build, or one that is the star attraction within your outdoor kitchen.
Mastering the art of cooking dishes from around the world is relatively easy when you have the right facilities to take your wood-fired cookery to such an exciting level. Serving up Indian dishes also delivers an unexpected wow factor for your guests and a curry night, as we head into the autumn months, is often just what friends and family relish.
Brick and clay ovens are as old as time and have created culinary environments in which food has been cooked, in a traditional way, for centuries. In India, a tandoor oven requires the same high temperatures as pizza, allowing your Valoriani oven to become a perfect ‘tool’ for the rustling up of sub-continental dishes. A few of our Indian customers actually use them as upside-down tandoors!
Your Valoriani wood-fired oven will offer you the perfect smoky, charred flavour needed for many traditional Indian specialities, from the fluffiest naan bread to an aromatic lamb bhuna.
To get you started, we are sharing a few of our favourite recipes, to inspire your next Indian feast!
Flatbreads in your wood-fired oven
When you realise how easy it is to cook a fresh naan bread, you will wonder why you never tried rusting this up before. This is also a great dish with which to get children involved, as handling the dough is something that little fingers just love to do.
We love this easy recipe from BBC Good Food https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/naan-bread Just follow the instructions and place your naan breads inside your wood-fired oven, before watching them puff up on the hot oven floor. Once slightly charred (after about a minute) just remove them and brush them with melted butter – delicious!
Curries – the wood-fired oven way
The list of our favourite curry dishes is endless, but all of their unique flavours, aromatic aromas and ingredients are perfectly suited to cooking in a wood-fired oven. Our artisan-built ovens are constructed of the finest ‘cotto’ clay and create consistent temperatures, to provide high cooking performance and the optimum cooking experience.
With this degree of culinary security behind you, you can attempt a wide variety of Indian curry-style dishes, knowing that the oven can cope with whatever you wish to cook.
Why not try Jamie Oliver’s beautifully cooked tandoori chicken? You could easily prepare this dish on skewers and pop these onto our special Tuscan grill, to give them the beautiful wood-fired treatment, as a grilled dish. Simply remove the skewers, when the meat is cooked and ready to serve. For the recipe, follow this link https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/tandoori-chicken/
For a curry with a bit more kick, a lamb bhuna is a particular favourite here at Orchard Ovens and we can recommend Nadiya Hussain’s super-speedy recipe https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/lamb-bhuna-with-garlic-naan/ Sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve with your home, wood-fired cooked naan bread.
Whether it’s paneer tikka, red lentil dahl or, if you really like your heat, a vindaloo, there are so many wonderful dishes to be enjoyed in your wood-fired oven. A fish curry is a great alternative to lamb or chicken and cooks perfectly in the high temperatures of the oven; with the fish being chargrilled on the outside and tender on the inside.
Wood-fired ovens for home, garden and outdoor kitchens
Our wood-fired ovens have the internal space to allow you to keep multiple dishes cooking at once for your Indian feast, enabling you to create a true banquet. Just work out your timings and away you go.
Let your Valoriani wood-fired oven transport you to another continent this autumn and ignite your culinary creativity by moving from La Bella Italia to Moghul India.
If you feel inspired by the thought of this and would like to discuss how to incorporate a Valoriani wood-fired oven into your garden, home kitchen or outdoor kitchen, talk to one of our team, by calling 01772 250000. Alternatively, just email info@orchardovens.co.uk and we will be in touch.
