51�Թ�

In the Tarim Basin, the sand could cook bread faster than a tandoor oven.

Before the crackdown started, the Afghan ran a tandoor business.

He installed just a few tables and a brilliantly hot well of a tandoor oven, which he learned to man in a sweaty process of trial and error.

“In Pakistan, people think the spicier the better,” said the third-generation tandoor owner.

It’s an essential component of some of the dishes at Bryant Ng’s Cassia in Santa Monica, where 20% of the dishes are cooked using a wok or a tandoor oven, both powered by gas.