From stress cookers to air fryers: The evolution of kitchen devices in Indian households

We Indians have a penchant for deep-fried stuff. The phrase pakwaan, derived from Sanskrit, means well-cooked meals. Puri, kachori, luchi, vada, bonda—all fall within the class of festive, celebratory meals. Our ancestors didn’t lead sedentary lives, and simply digested what they consumed. No one was involved about unburnt energy and collected fat choking arteries. Alas, the instances have modified and the phrase ‘fried’ sends a chill down most spines.

Any gadget that guarantees some reduction is seen as a godsend. The air fryer being one. It is no surprise that the air fryer market was valued at over ₹600 crore in 2025. It can’t be denied that the second and third era air fryers are versatile, compact and extra reasonably priced. But, to hasten to the conclusion that they’re ushering in a revolution within the kitchens of ‘Mera Bharat Mahaan’ won’t be sensible.

In the previous, we now have witnessed many a technological disruption that rose like a tidal wave however did not change into a tsunami. The induction cooker that appeared to liberate us from the LPG bondage, as an illustration, didn’t survive lengthy. The downside was that to make use of an induction cooker optimally, one needed to be geared up with vessels particularly made for it. Regular provide and value of electrical energy needed to be factored in. Before that, there was the craze for microwave OTG, with or with out convection and rotisserie. Today, these child white elephants have been relegated to the position of reheating meals in microwave-safe bowls. Dozens of recipe books had been penned by celeb cooks endorsing this breakthrough, however harassed housewives voted them out earlier than they might assume energy. It simply didn’t go well with the Indian cooking type that aromatised cooking oil and relied rather a lot on tempering.

Lest the readers get the sensation that this author is a Luddite who can’t stay with out the wood-fired chulha, tandoor, grinding stone or mortar and pestle, we should acknowledge our debt to the array of labour-, time- and fuel-saving tools that has revolutionised the way in which we eat. The stress cooker is a first-rate instance of this. Interestingly, the non-pressure steam cooker, trying like a big tiffin service, was invented in India. One may cook dinner rice, lentils and greens for a small household on the similar time. Seasoning and tempering had been hassle-free as soon as the cooking was completed. Mahatma Gandhi appreciated it and had entry to at least one in Yerawada jail. He suggested his trusted aide Mahadev Desai to make use of it to arrange tasty dal for fellow inmate Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. True, this steam cooker couldn’t be used for frying, however it saved housewives effort and time.

Then got here the stress cooker that dramatically decreased cooking time and saved gas. It was greeted with anxiousness within the early days. Would its whistles sound the loss of life knell of gradual cooking on dum? Would the meals style the identical? And, god forbid, what if it exploded? It was an Indian who solved the issue by introducing a security valve. The inventor didn’t take out a patent to make sure that all producers may incorporate it.

One may use the thick-bottomed stress cooker to even bake a cake! From a standing image, it quickly grew to become the darling of the kitchen in underprivileged households. Put the stress cooker on simmer and measure the amount of elements and fluids precisely, preserve observe of time by counting the whistles, and the household may take pleasure in fluffy pulao, fragrant biryani or dum pukht curries.

Another gadget that has had an equally wonderful run is the mixer grinder, each dry and moist. An astute political chief in Tamil Nadu gained over ladies voters with a novel freebie—not saris or TV units however moist grinders! Today, mixer grinders are available in all shapes and sizes, hand-held and even battery-operated, that go well with all pockets and are indispensable.

Then there may be the technological marvel that has proved to be a lifesaver—the fridge. Even slum dwellers beg, borrow or purchase on instalment pre-owned, repaired fridges as a necessity to avoid wasting meals from spoiling. One can safe-keep in it half-done elements, like boiled potatoes, and marinated stuff to whip up a meal later.

Solar cookers, in the meantime, shimmered like a mirage for a really quick time. These had been closely subsidised and had been meant to be adopted by hundreds of thousands within the villages who may boil rice and dal within the cooker with the assistance of a shiny umbrella-like reflector or one mounted atop a heavy wood field. People although turned their gaze away from the not-so-portable photo voltaic cookers, and as a substitute queued as much as purchase subsidised photo voltaic lanterns. Likewise, devices just like the atta kneading machine, the chapati maker and curd maker survive as collector’s merchandise—none have change into neighbours’ envy, proprietor’s satisfaction.

Many rising applied sciences—3D printing to blowtorches to scorch meals in breathtaking culinary theatre on the desk—have been tried by avant-garde cooks. There was a passing part when molecular wizardry wowed company in higher crust eating places. Foams and reductions are at the moment in vogue.

Indian culinary philosophy correlates six fundamental flavours (shadras) and 6 seasons (shadritu) and emphasises that what issues most isn’t technical virtuosity however the tender loving care with which meals is ready. The lesson is that solely these devices survive that fill an actual want. Those who cook dinner daily adapt recipes in accordance with the devices they’ve. Creativity just isn’t crippled, however inspired. Technology will proceed to register breakthroughs, and preparation of meals will proceed to evolve.

But meals is not only vitamin, additionally it is reminiscence. What seems on the plate or leaf is a mirrored image of what assets can be found to scrimp or splurge. As the previous saying goes, the proof of the pudding (and all the things that’s edible) is within the consuming, not cooking. The ‘vessel’, too, contributes to the essence of style, be it the hole bamboo tubes utilized in northeast delicacies or the earthern claypot utilized in Punjab for making ready kunna gosht. But can leading edge devices mimic the scorching of the cheena chatti (deep frying pan) when the appam batter touches it? Or, can they replicate the smoky flavour a sigdi chulha (transportable range historically product of clay/iron, fuelled by wooden or dung) imparts to skewered kebabs? It is troublesome to think about, even on this uneasy age of AI, {that a} non-human agent can accomplish all this by itself.

Pant is a meals historian.