Plant Pot Tandoor

Simple small lightweight portable tandoor from humble plant pots!

Step 1: Setup

you'll need three unglazed terracotta pots. one large 40cm ish, one 27cm ish pot and one 23cm ish pot. you'll also need approx 30litres of vermiculite from a garden/hydroponic shop. (I used 10litres of vermiculite with free crushed pumice from the Beach)

Step 2: Prep

cut the bottom off the middle sized pot. use electrical tape to mark a line and cut along centre of the tape the prevent cracked edges. I used a masonry disc in a grinder.

Step 3: Insulation

place the large pot on bricks leaving the hole unobstructed. Place the small pot upright in the large pot so holes line up. if you have all vermiculite, just fill the void between the two pots with vermiculite. leave the top 30mm or so unfilled. wear a face mask and gloves when using vermiculite. if your using pumice as well, make a cardboard cone which is just larger than the small pot. vermiculite has superior insulation properties so we want it nearer the heat. cone calculation programs are available on the internet. make sure you carefully remove the cardboard before proceeding.

Step 4: Assembly

place the mid sized pot large opening down on top of the small pot and continue filling the void as before, cone or no cone...

Step 5: Finishing

when at the top I used a layer of pumice to make it look nicer and contain the vermiculite. remove the cardboard cone.

Step 6: First Firing

for the first burn in do not cook anything! use clean burning fuel like charcoal so it doesn't create too much smoke. Just keep a fire in for 4-6 hours to test and prepare the cooking surface. once fully cooled, give the inside cooking surface a clean with salty water. this helps prepare the surface for naans.

Step 7: Naan Cooking

use your favourite naan recipe and apply each naan to the inside of the HOT tandoor. i used a wet glove for hand insulation. careful not to burn yourself, my wall temperature was over 400°c. enjoy...