 "Thank God it's fry day")
In an era when calories are counted at every meal, who'd want to gorge on fried stuff, even if it is the festive season? No wonder television channels are inundated with ads about gizmos that promise solutions for your tongue and your waistline. One such product that has caught the eye of the health conscious is the AirFryer, created by Philips to minimise the use of oil in preparing normally fried dishes. Today, there are numerous "air fryers", some that even disingenuously promise "zero percent oil" cooking. I went with the original, the Philips AirFryer. It is compact and didn't take up too much space on the kitchen shelf and sits easily alongside the microwave and mixer-grinder.
For a person who is daunted by too many knobs on any gadget, new electronic products are usually a battle; I press all the wrong buttons and find the device desperately resisting my assaults. So, when I see that the AirFryer has only two knobs - one to set the temperature and the other to control the time - I heave a sigh of relief. All one needs to do is to slide out the food basket, put in your ingredients and slide it back in. Easily enough, therefore, the AirFryer and I begin to understand each other.
The Philips AirFryer, unlike some of the other versions available in the market, doesn't claim to completely eliminate the oil; instead, it promises fried food with up to 80 per cent less fat. There is a recipe manual that usually accompanies the fryer and the company has uploaded recipes created exclusively for the AirFryer by Chef Sanjay Thumma on YouTube for the customer's reference. I decided to start with the french fries - which is the acid test for any good fryer. The recipe suggests mixing the sliced potatoes, around 250 gm, with just one tablespoon of oil. Preheat the fryer at 180°C for five minutes and then dump the fries in it for 15 minutes. As soon as I put the fries in the food basket and slide it back, the AirFryer jumps to action with a whirring sound. It works on the company's patented Rapid Air Technology, in which heated air is emitted from the top and circulated evenly within the device to cook the food. At temperatures up to 200°C, the air moves quickly within, adding a crisp exterior and a tender filling.
After 10 minutes, I check the fries as instructed and they have turned golden. In the next five minutes they acquire a crunchy exterior as well. Meanwhile, I have a similar batch of fries cooking in the wok as well. Though the AirFryer take around 6-7 minutes more to get the fries done, the result is more satisfying - there is virtually no grease on the hand and there is evenness in the crunch, unlike the ones cooked in the wok. I have to say I go a little berserk thereafter, putting the AirFryer to all sorts of tests: samosas, tawa vegetables, kachoris, chicken koftas. While the foods that required a crust like samosas and kachoris cook well in the AirFryer, I felt that others like koftas are slightly stiff and undercooked.
Also, one begins to wonder whether the AirFryer is really a necessity in a kitchen that already has an oven-toaster-griller, or OTG. Well, according to Philips, the AirFryer can roast, grill and bake as well - there are recipes for choco lava cake and similar goodies in the booklet - but I am not sure if it can take over the role of the OTG, which comes with a rotisserie and higher temperature controls. It is something one needs to wait and watch. But yes, if you view the AirFryer in isolation, as a standalone gadget, then it sure is a great product.
You can have your choicest deep-fried food without the slick. Also, the ease of use and the convenient cleaning process adds to the charms of the product. Its removable non-stick drawer and the food basket are dishwasher safe and can also be cleaned manually. But, there are still certain foods that are messy to make in the AirFryer - I try making pakoras and the batter sinks to the drawer at the bottom. But then why not indulge in some deep-fried stuff when you can cut back so much on the oil on others?
For a person who is daunted by too many knobs on any gadget, new electronic products are usually a battle; I press all the wrong buttons and find the device desperately resisting my assaults. So, when I see that the AirFryer has only two knobs - one to set the temperature and the other to control the time - I heave a sigh of relief. All one needs to do is to slide out the food basket, put in your ingredients and slide it back in. Easily enough, therefore, the AirFryer and I begin to understand each other.
The Philips AirFryer, unlike some of the other versions available in the market, doesn't claim to completely eliminate the oil; instead, it promises fried food with up to 80 per cent less fat. There is a recipe manual that usually accompanies the fryer and the company has uploaded recipes created exclusively for the AirFryer by Chef Sanjay Thumma on YouTube for the customer's reference. I decided to start with the french fries - which is the acid test for any good fryer. The recipe suggests mixing the sliced potatoes, around 250 gm, with just one tablespoon of oil. Preheat the fryer at 180°C for five minutes and then dump the fries in it for 15 minutes. As soon as I put the fries in the food basket and slide it back, the AirFryer jumps to action with a whirring sound. It works on the company's patented Rapid Air Technology, in which heated air is emitted from the top and circulated evenly within the device to cook the food. At temperatures up to 200°C, the air moves quickly within, adding a crisp exterior and a tender filling.
After 10 minutes, I check the fries as instructed and they have turned golden. In the next five minutes they acquire a crunchy exterior as well. Meanwhile, I have a similar batch of fries cooking in the wok as well. Though the AirFryer take around 6-7 minutes more to get the fries done, the result is more satisfying - there is virtually no grease on the hand and there is evenness in the crunch, unlike the ones cooked in the wok. I have to say I go a little berserk thereafter, putting the AirFryer to all sorts of tests: samosas, tawa vegetables, kachoris, chicken koftas. While the foods that required a crust like samosas and kachoris cook well in the AirFryer, I felt that others like koftas are slightly stiff and undercooked.
| Flying off the shelves |
| With merely days left to Diwali, electronics stores are teeming with eager customers. And when it comes to air fryers, there are options galore. Besides Philips, companies such as Havells, Kenstar, Roxx, Oster and Glen have introduced air fryers with their own unique technologies. The prices range from Rs 7,990 for Kenstar's Oxy Fryer and go up to Rs 14,995 for the Philips machine. "The pricing depends on the capacity of the food basket and the technology being used," says a sales representative at a Vijay Sales store in Gurgaon. "While Philips uses rapid air movement, others like the Halo air fryer from Oster and the Happy Life air fryer form Roxx use a halogen element to cook the food," he adds. And with people becoming increasingly health conscious, it is no wonder then that air fryers are literally flying off the shelves. "We have run out of stock and have ordered more," says another sales representative at the Croma store in Gurgaon. |
| Havells air fryer: Two-litre food basket, four-litre pan capacity, 60 minute timer with auto shut off, aluminium non stick removable basket. Rs 14,995 Glen air fryer: Cooking capacity up to 800 grams, integrated air filter, adjustable 60 minute timer, removable basket, six temperature settings. Offer price: Rs 13,990 Halo fryer by Oster: Double cooking action, fan assisted convection with a halogen element, uses 99.5 per cent less oil, automatic thermostat control, auto shut off. Rs 13,995 Oxy Fryer by Kenstar: Available exclusively on Flipkart, fries food with fast circulation of air, three-litre food basket, 30 minute timer with automatic shut off, temperature setting from 80°C to 200°C. Offer price: Rs 7,990 |
Also, one begins to wonder whether the AirFryer is really a necessity in a kitchen that already has an oven-toaster-griller, or OTG. Well, according to Philips, the AirFryer can roast, grill and bake as well - there are recipes for choco lava cake and similar goodies in the booklet - but I am not sure if it can take over the role of the OTG, which comes with a rotisserie and higher temperature controls. It is something one needs to wait and watch. But yes, if you view the AirFryer in isolation, as a standalone gadget, then it sure is a great product.
You can have your choicest deep-fried food without the slick. Also, the ease of use and the convenient cleaning process adds to the charms of the product. Its removable non-stick drawer and the food basket are dishwasher safe and can also be cleaned manually. But, there are still certain foods that are messy to make in the AirFryer - I try making pakoras and the batter sinks to the drawer at the bottom. But then why not indulge in some deep-fried stuff when you can cut back so much on the oil on others?
Philips AirFryer is priced at Rs 14,995