A few years ago, a genuine clay tandoor at home was almost unheard of outside a restaurant kitchen. That's changed. More serious home cooks, and more people who host regularly, are choosing to install an actual gas-fired clay tandoor in a backyard or patio, the same core technology restaurants use, rather than settling for a tandoor-style attachment on a regular grill.
Why a Real Tandoor, Not a Substitute
A genuine tandoor cooks through a combination of radiant heat from the clay, convection from trapped hot air, and smoke, reaching temperatures up to 900°F. That combination produces naan with real char and blister in under two minutes, and tandoori chicken or kebabs with a smoky exterior and juicy interior that a standard grill, oven, or even a "tandoor-style" ceramic cooker simply can't replicate. For anyone who's had genuine tandoori food at a restaurant and wanted to recreate it at home, there's no real substitute for the actual clay oven and the heat it produces.
Why People Choose to Buy One for Home
Entertaining becomes a genuine event. A tandoor at a backyard gathering isn't just cooking equipment, it's a centerpiece. Guests watch dough get slapped directly onto the clay walls and skewers of marinated meat lowered in and pulled out sizzling, which turns dinner into something closer to live cooking theater than a normal backyard barbecue.
It's a serious step up from grilling. For households that already host regularly and have invested in a nice grill or outdoor kitchen setup, a tandoor is a natural next addition, since it does things a grill fundamentally can't: fresh naan in minutes, and a level of char and smoke on kebabs that charcoal alone doesn't fully replicate.
Frequency of use justifies the investment for the right household. A family that cooks Indian, Pakistani, or Middle Eastern food regularly, or hosts large gatherings often enough, gets real, repeated value out of owning a tandoor rather than treating it as a novelty used once and forgotten.
Choosing the Right Size for Home Use
Genuine tandoors are substantial pieces of equipment, not small tabletop appliances, and sizing for home use comes down to how much you'll realistically cook and how much space you have.
Our 26-inch catering tandoor is the size most home buyers land on. At 200 pounds and built with mobility in mind, including caster wheels, it's sized for real entertaining, capable of turning out a genuine batch of naan and kebabs for a full backyard gathering, without the footprint or output level of a full restaurant unit. It's also the size most commonly used for catering events and outdoor cooking, which tells you it's built to be moved and used outside a fixed kitchen.
For households that entertain often and at real scale, or that want extra headroom for bigger gatherings, the 28-inch medium tandoor steps up in both capacity and output, the same size many new restaurants start with for full dinner service. It's a bigger commitment in terms of weight (450 lbs) and space, but it gives a serious home cook or frequent host real production capacity.
Either way, these are genuine ETL-certified, handcrafted clay ovens inside a stainless steel shell, the same construction used in commercial kitchens, not a scaled-down home version with a different design.
What Comes With It
Every Shaan tandoor, regardless of size, arrives fully assembled and ready for gas hookup, including a pre-installed gas burner with a safety system, thermocouple, and pilot igniter, a stainless steel mouth cover, a disposal tray, 2 bread and naan skewers, 12 assorted BBQ skewers, a naan bread pad, 1 pound of maintenance clay, and caster wheels for mobility. All units run on natural gas and can be converted to propane, which matters for a backyard setup without an existing natural gas line.
Skewers and Accessories Worth Having on Hand
Skewers. The included bread and BBQ skewers cover the basics, but as you settle into regular tandoor cooking, our full skewers collection covers different thicknesses and lengths suited to specific proteins, from delicate paneer and vegetables to larger cuts of meat that need a sturdier skewer to hold their weight without bending inside the oven.
Bread pads. A proper bread pad (sometimes called a roti gaddi or bread pillow) is what's used to press dough onto the hot clay wall without burning your hand in the process, an essential tool rather than an optional extra for anyone making naan regularly.
Clay mix for maintenance. The clay interior of a tandoor develops small cracks over time with regular high-heat use, completely normal for the material. Keeping replacement clay mix on hand lets you patch minor wear yourself and keep the oven performing well for years.
Baffle plates, safety valves, and thermocouples. These are the core components behind the gas burner system, and having access to baffle burner plates, safety valves, and thermocouples means a worn part doesn't take your tandoor out of commission for weeks waiting on a replacement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a real tandoor be used at home, or is it only for restaurants?
Yes. Smaller sizes like the 26-inch catering tandoor are specifically built with mobility and outdoor use in mind, and they're commonly used for home entertaining, catering events, and backyard cooking, not exclusively in commercial kitchens.
Does a home tandoor need a natural gas line?
It can run on either. Shaan tandoors are built for natural gas by default but can be converted to propane, which is often the more practical option for a backyard setup without an existing gas line.
How much does a home tandoor weigh, and can it be moved easily?
The 26-inch catering size weighs around 200 pounds and includes caster wheels specifically for mobility, making it realistic to reposition, though it's still a substantial piece of equipment that needs a stable, dedicated outdoor space rather than something moved daily.
What accessories should I buy along with a home tandoor?
Beyond what's included (basic skewers, a bread pad, and maintenance clay), most regular users eventually add a wider range of skewer sizes for different proteins and keep extra clay mix on hand for routine maintenance.
Nishi Enterprise is the exclusive North American distributor of Shaan Tandoor clay ovens, sold to both restaurants and serious home cooks since 2002. Browse our full tandoor collection or contact our team for help choosing the right size for your space.
