Description and Photographs
Click the photographs for a larger image
The full flow rate of gas in a domestic stove is normally about 24 cc/sec. The EcoCooker stove is the normal domestic stove, operated at full flow. It is best placed on the ground.
Image 1: Seen next to it is the 24-litre EcoCooker base.
The hardest-to-cook item is placed in the bottom cooking vessel. Easier to cook items are in the next two vessels above.
Image 2: The circular base has been put on the stove. Seen inside the base is the bottom support plate, flipped up. Next to it are two cooking vessels.
Each cooking vessel holds about 6 litres of food. The quantity of water to be added should be about 1:2 for rice:water and 1:3 for dal:water.
Image 3: The bottom support plate, correctly positioned inside the base. Water is poured into the base until it is just above the support plate (but not over-filled), a millimeter or two above the plate, not more.
Cooks meat, dal, lentils, rice, vegetables-anything that can be steamed in a closed container-simultaneously.
Image 4: The lowest 2 cooking vessels with their lids, shown in position. It is imperative that the bottom vessel is in contact with the water in the base when heating starts. Each lid should also be wet on top before the next vessel is placed on it. Water is an important contact medium between the two metal surfaces, of the lid and the next vessel.
The food placed in the containers can have all the spices and tadka added before starting.
Image 5: The full stack of cooking vessels. The second-hardest-to-cook item is placed in the top vessel. Note that the uppermost lid has to be placed in position inverted, so that water does not collect on top. Seen next to the stack of cooking vessels is the inner cover.
Image 6: The inner cover being lowered into position.
Image 7: The outer cover being lowered into position.
Image 8: The final assembly. The gas can now be lit. If the EcoCooker is fully charged, the gas should be turned off after one hour, but the cooker should not opened for another half an hour. Cooking inside continues during this half-hour, while the gas is off.
Notes
Keeping the gas on for too long doesn’t matter, it will only waste some gas, the food will not be over-cooked.
When the cooker is opened, it is vital that the water in the base should have fallen below the level of the supporting bottom plate. If it has not, there was too much water in the base to start with, and the food in the lowest vessel may not have cooked properly (it will cool too fast during the half-hour of no heat supply, and cooking will not be completed). If the cooker is partially charged, the heating time can be reduced.
Half an hour after switching off the gas, or even later as desired, the cooker can be opened. The food is hot and ready to serve.
Another way of timing the gas for a partially charged cooker is to look for puffs of steam that come out at the joint with the base. Heating should continue for 20 minutes after the first puffs are seen.
Advantages and Benefits
- Saves 75% of the fuel that is required to cook the same food in open vessels.
- Labour saving: needs no attention, no stirring, and there is no danger of burning the food.
Specifications
- Despatch weight: KKK kg (weight in kilograms)
- Despatch dimensions DDD x HHH mm (diameter x height, in millimetres)
The stove is not supplied with this model of the EcoCooker.
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