Astara building one of the world’s biggest tandir ovens

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

One of the world’s biggest tandir (firewood oven) will appear in Azerbaijan's southern city of Astara -- on a boulevard along the Caspian Sea shore.

At a height of 6.5 meters and a diameter of 12 meters, the tandir has been under construction for two months and is expected to be completed next month.

Instead of stones and bricks, the structure is being built using light metal.

The tandir will consist of three parts and will be used to bake bread and cook popular Talysh dishes for boulevard guests.

The tandir holds special significance in the culture of Azerbaijan. It is an oven made from clay in a round, conical shape. The upper part of tandir is truncated.

Along with Azerbaijan, tandir ovens are widely used in the Caucasus, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and other countries in the region.

In ancient times, “tandir xanas” were very popular in the country. Scientists have found tandir ovens in many yards during archeological excavations.

People cooked bread and various dishes in tandirs since ancient times. Tandir oven-cooked dishes are very delicious, juicy, and have an unusual taste.

Firewood is used to heat the oven. Its inner walls are heated to a temperature of several hundred degrees and this contributes to rapid cooking.

Bread has special status in Azerbaijan, it is always on the table and is often eaten with almost every meal. There are many kinds of bread offered at local bakeries, but tandir bread is Azerbaijan’s favorite.

Nothing can compare with the taste of tandir fresh from the clay oven. Bread is cooked by attaching on walls of tandir.

People here not only love to eat bread, but also consider it sacred. If an Azerbaijani sees a piece of bread lying on the street, he/she will certainly pick it up.