When chefs play with fire: The art of mastering induction stoves

If yoursquove observed an Asian cuisine chef work a wok it plays out like a transcendental act In laymanrsquos terms they work from a space of muscle memory They know just the right temperature from the sizzle of the veggies they lift the wok off the fire to manoeuvre a pan swirl so the noodles dance to their tunes This is possible on high flame The freedom of following gut instinct is like playing with fire literallyldquoThe judgement of playing with the pan for a line chef comes from watching and feeling the heat Thatrsquos the first habit they form The switch to induction breaks that flow it will require trainingrdquo informs Ravi Wazir restaurant and FampB strategistoperatorA chef prepares a dosa on an electric tawaItrsquos important he points out to understand the difference between electric and induction equipment ldquoGas and electricity are two big buckets of energy Within electricity there are two kinds of devices mdash an electrical device that works using an electric coil for example a kettlerdquo he says ldquoThe second type of electric device is induction that works through the electromagnetic field Only ferromagnetic utensils can be used on it Compared to gas its running cost can be 20 to 30 per cent lesserrdquo Wazir explainsRight now the star of modern kitchens is the combination oven that combines dry heat and steam ldquoThis offers convection conduction and steam Many kitchens already have it but it is not always optimally usedrdquo Wazir explains While kitchens have been denied LPG adopting induction is easier said than done ldquoThere is a silver lining in this transition Induction causes less heat and can lead to better cleanliness in the kitchen as temperatures in the kitchen droprdquo he concludesLessons from an induction kitchenChef Divesh Aswani founded Commis Station during COVID19 In an industrial estate it was a safer option fire compliant and expended less heat ldquoMy best investment was the Rational Combi Oven It is a different mechanism It is a work horse and works more than any other team members It is switched on from 8 am to 5 pm and at times when we have catering we cook roasts and braises overnight and head home knowing wersquoll have a succulent meat dish the next dayrdquoAswani works the Rational Combi Oven to make Hazelnut and Brown Butter CrumbleThis Combi has six trays It offers grill settings for roast chicken tandoor Peking duck spoke cake and even breads ldquoI can control humidity as well as temperature For example to make a Baacutenh Migrave we bake it for 16 minutes which includes loading flash steaming baking cycle at 181 degrees and cools automatically to 130On the induction Aswani braises the lamb shoulder ldquoTurned off the equipment is stone cold Within seconds it shoots to 3500 watts yoursquoll hear a sizzle This is why you canrsquot keep food on induction for too long as it will burnrdquo The induction pot takes a few extra steps and grilling of veggies is done separately and later assembledIf yoursquore a chef cooking on an open line yoursquore doing like four dishes at a time and you miss that step Or if you miss taking care of that egg then itrsquos going to be like papad by the time you get to it The induction keeps throwing heat and needs to be controlledNew normalldquoMy kitchens ran on LPG Thanks to prior experience on induction it took me a week to train the staff and initiate changes Induction cooking is faster than gas but demands precision With Asian wok cooking the smoky finish is difficult to replicate Wersquove moved a lot of our wok grilling into the combi oven Initially we faced issues like undercooking and overcooking With temperature control we have achieved 99 per cent of the same flavourA chef at Shiv Sagar prepares the sambar PicsAtul KambleItrsquos all about recalibration For instance chicken takes longer than fish to be ready so instead of cooking everything at 200 degrees we adjust temperatures to around 160 and cook slightly longer for better results This is no longer a temporary adjustment but a shift in how modern kitchens will operate going forwardrdquoChef Krishna Tiwari executive chef KYMA Shiv Sagar GroupPractice before you roll cameraEspecially in India most professional kitchens function on LPG In the current situation lowgrade inductions available in the market take longer to cook There is a seventoeightminute delay due to temperature difference This increases the amount of time it takes to place the food on the tableFirstly you canrsquot leave an induction on for a long time as it will burn the food Even on sets of food shows like Laughter Chef that I consult on we earlier worked on gas Now we conduct trials on induction before we roll the camera as failure in delivering food is much higherAditi Goel chef consultantThe big editOur Borivli outlet heavily relied on LPG until last month About 30 to 35 per cent of the menu gives us about 80 per cent of the food revenue We cut the number of our dishes from 100 to 38 Wersquove adapted operations by shifting Indian curries to induction with minimal impact on taste and consistency Continental dishes that require highheat pan cooking have been selectively reduced or modifiedWe continue to use gas for wokbased cooking as Asian cuisine requires a distinct smoky finish while the rest of the kitchen has moved to electric ovens and tandoorbased cooking For a dish like Citrus Paprika Chicken the sauce was cooked on gas and now can easily be adapted to induction This shift has proven that the move is not just temporary but a longterm operational change towards more efficient kitchensChef Ameyyaa Mahajani executive chef Downtown 29 BKC and Borivli