A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in Transcaucasus, the Balkans, the Middle East, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh, in which food is cooked over a hot charcoal fire. Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 480°C (900°F), and it is common for tandoor ovens to remain lit for long periods of time to maintain the high cooking temperature. The tandoor design is something of a transitional form between a makeshift earth oven and the horizontal-plan masonry oven, and is used almost exclusively for live-fire, radiant heat cooking.Tandoor is used for cooking certain types of Irani, Indian and Pakistani food, such as tandoori chicken and bread varieties like tandoori roti and naan. (The word tandoori is the adjective form.) It is also known as a tonir in Armenian which is a widely used method of cooking barbecue and lavash bread. In Georgia it is called a tone and is used for bread and kebab.The tandoor is also known by another name of 'Bhatti' in India. The Bhatti tribe of the Thar Desert of Northwestern India and Eastern Pakistan developed the Bhatti in their desert abode, and thus it gained the name of Bhatti. It is thought to have travelled to Central Asia and the Middle East along with the Roma, who originated amongst the Thar Desert tribes.The tandoor is currently a very important fixture in many Indian restaurants around the world. Some modern day tandoors use electricity or gas instead of charcoal.