Unbelievably Delicious, Healthy, and Steaming Hot Sun-Cooked Food

The topic of solar energy often gets space in the print media. Frequently it occurs in news. Usually, electricity generation attracts all the attention. Government too invests in electricity generation at a large scale.

Solar water heaters are made mandatory for new buildings in cities which really reduce the electricity bill considerably, so awareness is being created, but to my surprise, solar cookers are hardly a topic of discussion.



I was always curious about the solar cooker and the food cooked in it, probably this was because I had seen it being used in a village. A typical environment-friendly family living in a small village had one in use, and the lady described the process of cooking food at a great length.

Finally, when I could get an opportunity, I bought one. Our home was on the top floor of the building, and there was a fairly big terrace. It was an ideal situation for using a solar cooker. It was almost the end of the winter season.

My experiments with the solar cooker started. First tried cooking rice and tur dal. Set the cooker carefully, went down and after an hour again set the direction of the cooker carefully. The second time when I went up to check whether dal and rice were cooked, to my surprise the moment I opened the cooker it was terribly hot and there was an appetizing smell of cooked rice and dal which could hardly wait, I could not imagine that this surprise awaited me. Carefully I brought down both the containers, it was a feast of hot varan bhat along with homemade ghee and lemon juice added to make it perfect for a Marathi palate. Both were perfectly done, rice was soft but not sticky, every rice grain was separate and the dal had a perfect look and smell.

It became a routine then for all of us to get hot rice and dal for lunch. In summer it hardly used take one hour to get both cooked.

During the summer vacation, I cooked a variety of food. A number of rice varieties and curry preparations added flavor to lunch and dinner. Tadka and saute were to be done separately using a gas stove, adding spices and all the ingredients, once sufficient water is added mixture can be shifted to solar cooker containers and placed in the cooker. Once the cooker is set according to the direction of the sun, it gets cooked usually in an hour. The joy of steaming rice and curry with a tempting smell has no bounds. Words fall absolutely short of describing the delicious combination.

The only thing I couldn't try was cooking non-vegetarian food, especially Biryani. Maybe this summer would help to experiment with this section.

Tamarind sauce is something that can be easily cooked ( it takes a long time to get the right kind of thick consistency using a gas stove.),it can be preserved in a fridge for a year without any preservatives. Solar cooker varan doesn't get spoiled in summer outside the fridge. Peanuts can be baked, sprouted lentils can be cooked well. Once I tried fruit jam, it turned out to be very tasty and had a natural texture and color. ( Unfortunately, I totally forgot to write down the recipe.)

After my second trial of solar cooker, I keep wondering why this is not introduced well in the rural areas, where there is ample open space available. It saves fuel, and energy, and adds a streak of healthy food in meals. It has to be propagated again if it is forgotten. There are some models with the help of which bigger quantity may be cooked easily. It doesn't have much maintenance cost. We need to shift to this renewable energy as far as possible.

One has to use it to experience the wonderful natural taste of food.