The Indian Company, Rohitas has been working for the past two and a half decades in improving the solar cooker range
and have developed a number of innovative designs. These solar cookers are developed to replace conventional cooking
devices and overcome the hazardous effects on health of conventional cooking methods. Although this solar cooker achieves high temperatures, it is not as useable as the Global Sun Oven ® for baking or general cooking and needs much closer supervision.
The TULSI CHEF is the latest in a series of Solar Ovens produced by Rohitas
It is a improved version of a parabolic concentrator Sola Cooker and takes care of deficiencies and problems such as:
Handling problem being bigger in size
Time-consuming assembly
Chances of the unit tipping over in wind
Undesired high-temperature, slow cooking is good for health
Slight negligence may cause injury to hands and eyes
Big Space requirement for storage when not in use
It incorporates friendly features and an elegant look combined with high efficiency. It can produce a temperature of more than 140°C in bright sunlight which is sufficient to cook food in a pressure cooker in about 30 to 40 minutes depending on the type of food. Tulsi Chef can be quickly dismantled for easy transportation and re-assembled by unskilled labor.
Safe Use: For safe operation it is advisable to wear good quality sunglasses and to tilt the reflector away from the sun whenever you want to stir or add ingredients into your pot. You must avoid standing on the sunny side of the reflector as the concentrated glare of the sun can be quite damaging to the eyes and the skin.
Basic rules for enjoying cooking, baking, frying and deep-frying with the solar cooker:
A) The solar cooker needs a sunny, level location which is protected from the wind. You can improve the
stability of your solar cooker against wind bows by attaching weights on the structure.
B) Only use dark cooking vessels. The black, enamelled solar pot or a large cast-iron pot is most suitable. A
pan with a high rim is useful for fried dishes. You can also use a wok. The poor heat conduction of ceramics
is a disadvantage of ceramic pots and they tend to crack. The oval ceramic pot that I put in my solar cooker
cracked. But the Tajine, the Moroccan clay pot (see picture on the right), is very suitable for the solar
cooker.
C) Do not use pots with parts, which are not resistant to heat (for example with plastic or wooden handles).
If you cannot replace these parts, you should wrap aluminium foil around them.
D) The large solar pot is best suited for the protected heating of small quantities of food in a water bath (for
example milk, pudding, honey).
E) When baking, a baking tin is placed in the pot. Do not put any water in the pot! Do not place the baking tin
directly on the bottom of the pot, but on a stand, for example, a wire rack of a pressure-cooker-insert
(tripod) or an aluminium wire-coil. (see page 7)
F) For baking, the pot is to be closed with the black lid; a glass lid will work like a burning-glass and may cause
black spots on the cake. Baking has to be done with the lid closed! You should only move the lid to one side
just before the baking is completed, so that the vapours can escape, and a crust can form. While baking,
the pot is moved a quarter-turn every 10 to 20 minutes, so that whatever is being in the pot is browned
evenly on all sides. I will give you more precise information with the baking recipes. (page 7)
G) Please always use handling-cloths when removing the baking-tin! The pot and the contents can be very
hot. It is recommended that you make a double hook of wire for the baking tin, so that you can remove it
easily. A possibility is shown in the picture.
H) While baking in hot cooking fat / oil, only fill up the pot some (3 to 5) centimetres high! Place the lid on the
pot all the time; otherwise the oil will not reach the required temperature.
I) When frying meat, sausages or eggs, proceed just as with an electrical or gas stove; but preferably fry in
the large pot to prevent grease spattering.
J) You may simultaneously cook with two small pots, but I recommend that you only put one pot in the solar
cooker and use a hay basket or several hay baskets to keep the food hot in several pots.
K) Do not toast bread or anything else in the enamelled pot, because the high temperatures reached at the
pot base will split off the enamel surface.