Food Processor for Indian Cooking - Magimix Review for Indian Kitchens

A detailed review of the use of food processor in an Indian kitchen for Indian-style cooking. Food processors can be used for chopping, slicing, mincing, grating, and pureeing vegetables as well as whip eggs, cream, and make dough for rotis and parathas. Wondering if a food processor would be useful to you and if you should get one? Read on.

After a lot of deliberation, and research, both online and offline, I decided to go ahead and buy a Magimix 3200 XL to help with my cooking needs. Besides the more basic functions like chopping and slicing, the Magimix also comes with a dicing attachment and I was quite excited about that, even though I did have to get it separately and pay extra.

Things to Consider before Purchasing a Food Processor

- Main purpose: are you going to be kneading a lot of dough in your processor? If so, you need to go for a strong machine that can handle it, with a reliable motor. If you are going to be using it more for processing vegetables, then go with one that has the right kind of attachments for slicing, dicing, shredding, etc.

- Budget: food processors come in many different sizes and models so once you have your main purpose sorted, look for options that fit in your budget. If you plan to get a lot of use out of it and it's going to be your main kitchen helper, invest in one that's strong and will give you years of food processing fun. More on this below, from an Indian kitchen context.

- Counter space: this is a small yet important piece. You have to plan to leave your food processor out on the counter, otherwise you won't get much use out of it. You also need to be able to store the attachments and accessories in a handy place to reach easily while you use the machine.

- Where to buy: this entirely depends on where you live. In India, there are many stores online where you can compare and see reviews of food processors. You can even go to a store, check out a few models, and then purchase online if prices are better. This is what I did in Australia since prices vary here dramatically depending on where you buy. After checking out many stores both online and offline, I finally bought my Magimix from Kitchenwaresuperstore. They had very competitive prices and if you find it cheaper anywhere, they will match it. Delivery was before the date promised, and their phone support was fabulous. I'll definitely buy from them again.

Now coming to the specific food processor I got, the Magimix 3200 XL which is the smallest option, meant for a family of 2-4. Magimix a French brand that makes home-friendly food processors with the same quality and strength as their popular Robot Coupe machines meant for commercial use. The motor comes with a 30 year warranty and the machine is (relatively) silent, efficient, and strong.

I made roti dough in the food processor and it barely moved with the force of it. While I would prefer to make dough in a Kitchenaid stand mixer, if you don't have one, a food processor is a perfectly fine option since it can do so much more than a stand mixer.

The processor comes with 3 bowls that nest one inside the other and the smallest one is really useful for making small amounts of guacamole, hummus, etc and also for pulsing nuts. In this case, I was making date and nut balls.

I use the large bowl for pureeing large amounts of onion-tomato gravy which I then add to multiple curries through the week. I make this gravy in bulk on weekends to make my weeknight cooking easier. Before I got this food processor, I used to do this in multiple batches in my small mixie jar.

I also made pesarattu batter in the large bowl. The blades are extremely sharp and they don't really grind the soaked beans, but crush them so the batter was grainy even after a few mins of processing so I wouldn't suggest using a food processor for making dosa batter but it's definitely an option, especially for grainy batters like for pesarattu and adai.

I've also sliced and grated many many batches of carrots, cucumber, cabbage, beetroot, etc, thanks to the handy attachments the Magimix comes with. It also stacks neatly in a box so you can easily put them away when you don't need them. There are 2 slicing discs, 2 shredding discs, 2 blades (one for the large bowl and one for the mini bowl), one whipping attachment, and one dough blade which is not sharp but pointed to enable kneading action.

I leave the box of attachments open inside the nearest cupboard to where the processor is so I just have to open the cupboard and grab the blades I need. This is extremely handy, needless to say.

As I was mentioning, the main reason why I bought this particular processor is because of the new dicing attachment. It needs to be bought separately and comes in 3 pieces - a dicer, a pusher, and a blade. Essentially, the dicer has sharp blades placed criss cross and we have to push the vegetable through it with the pusher to get it in cubes. The slicer will slice it into small pieces once it has passed through the criss cross blades.

So far, I've tried to cube carrots, potatoes, and beans. Potatoes work really well and you can even cut them for French fries by not using the slicer (you don't need to operate the machine either). Carrots need to be pre-cooked a bit since otherwise it's too tough to push through the dicer, so this is a bit of a disappointment. With that extra time needed, I might as well cube them by hand. Beans worked reasonably well as you can see in the picture above. I was able to push a large bunch through at the same time and was done in seconds. The pieces are not super uniform and while I'd love for every piece to be of the same dimension, this will do just fine since it takes only a few seconds. That said, I am not sure convinced that a dicing kit is worth shelling extra for. I'd buy it on sale or when they are giving it for free with purchase of a processor (like they are now).

I am yet to try making pie dough or whipping cream in the food processor. I have heard that a food processor does a great job of mixing pie crust so that will be next. I was waiting to try a few things before posting a review here so it can be as comprehensive as possible.

Overall, if you are considering a food processor for your Indian cooking needs, here are my suggestions:

1. If you want this to be your one main machine for the kitchen, then I'd recommend getting an Indian mixie instead. I had asked for recomendations on my Facebook page a couple of months ago and many people recommended Inalsa and Bajaj. Those brands are definitely worth a try
2. If your main purpose is blending or whipping, I'd highly recommend hand-held blenders. They are cheap and before this I had one which also had a small chopper attachment which I got a lot of use out of
3. If you plan to make roti dough very regularly and that's going to be your main purpose, consider investing in a stand mixer. I use and love my Kitchenaid stand mixer but there are options in the market too. Get one with a stable and strong motor, that's key. Kitchenaid India has now launched so you can also contact them to learn more. I am not sure if Magimix is available in India though
4. Get a food processor if you will be doing a lot of slicing, shredding, and grating primarily. I am getting a lot of use out of mine for this purpose. I slice an grate vegetables in bulk and prep them halfway which I then use through the week. This way, I am able to make dinner for us and prepare lunch for TH to take to work. I wasn't able to pull it off so easily in Singapore so the processor is definitely helping

If you have any other questions or comments, please leave a comment below and we can talk! I hope this post made your decision-making process a bit easier.

This is not a paid review. I purchased the food processor and all opinions are my own. 

Pure Komachi Knives Review

This post is long over due. I have wanted to share more about these amazing knives I use every day in my kitchen - the Pure Komachi knives.

They were first recommended by Anu when I was visiting her in LA. We came across the larger pink chef knife at TJ Maxx and she grabbed one and put them in my shopping cart before I could even protest. I am so grateful for her insistence because otherwise I'd have totally missed this awesomeness in my life.

Ok, so why are Pure Komachi Knives great?

A few reasons why I love Pure Komachi Knives:

- They are super light and very sharp. The weightlessness particularly appeals to me because I don't always use a chopping board. And well, I am guessing we all like our knives sharp. I've been using the pink one for over a year now and the green one for about 6 months now and both are as good as new.

- They are colourful and pretty. Yes, that matters. But beyond the visual appeal, they make it colourful so that you can easily tell them apart especially if you use specific knives for specific items like meat or garlic or fruits or whatever.

- The paring knife (smaller green one) is perfect for peeling garlic and shallots and chopping herbs fine. I do these three things heavily for my cooking and it's perfect for the job.

- They don't cost a bomb. In fact, compared to other options I have seen out there, these knives are cheap!

Since I like to balance my reviews a bit, a couple of negatives I can think of:

- The lighter colours tend to stain if you don't wash them immediately after use. I used the pink knife to chop up vazhakka a few times and if I don't wash and scrub them immediately, the brown stains don't go for a long time. As you can see, they do go off eventually but it takes away from the beauty of the knife for a while. That said, my ergo knife got stained the same way but it was impossible to wash out so it's permanently scarred now.

- They are not easily available unless you live in the US. I have seen a set of Pure Komachi knives in Takashimaya in Singapore but they are way too expensive.

I bought the green paring knife and this purple slicing knife from Amazon when I was in New York last year. I have been using the paring knife as my primary one since then with excellent results. The slicing knife is a tad too long for me for every day use and it's still in its box for now. I have too many knives out in the kitchen anyway.

As you can see, I can't stop gushing about them because they are brilliant and you must ask your friends/family/whoever-offers, to bring them back for you from the US.

Buying them off of Amazon is the easiest and best method I can think of. I would love to get my hands on the Pure Komachi 2 Series Hollow-Ground Santoku Knife too. I mean, look at that colour!



Disclaimer: This is not a paid review. I bought the knives, used them, and absolutely loved them. However, if you follow the links above and purchase these from Amazon, I will get enough money for half of a Starbucks coffee. Or maybe not even that, I am not sure.

Make Chapati Dough (Roti Dough) in a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer

How to make Roti or Chapati dough in a Kitchenaid stand mixer

This may not a big deal for all you North Indians who eat roti or chapati every day. As a hardcore South Indian who eats them probably once a week, I hate making the chapati or roti dough. It gets sticky, I need to pour water with one hand and mix with the other, the stuff gets under my nails, and worse, it takes forever to clean my hand afterwards, not to mention the energy you need to exert to get it ready.

I got my Kitchenaid a few months back and while I don't talk about it much, we are really good friends now. So much more than we would have been because now I make my roti dough in my Kitchenaid!

Also check out how to make roti dough in a food processor.

If you are one of those people who got a Kitchenaid and hardly get any use out of it except those occasional days you bake a cake, please make use of your dough hooks!

How to Make Chapati / Roti Dough in your Kitchenaid

I have measured out the exact amount of flour:water ratio but this could change depending on the type of atta you use and weather and temperature where you live. Play it by ear the first time but note it down so that from the next time on, you can go on auto mode.

Ingredients (for 7 chapatis / rotis)
1.5 cups wheat flour / atta
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil or soft butter

Add 1.5 cups of flour /  atta to the Kitchenaid bowl.

Top off with the amount of salt you require.

Attack your dough hook to the Kitchenaid machine. Give the flour and the salt a whir on the lowest speed until its well blended.

Start with 1/2 cup water (for 1.5 cups flour) and slowly trickle it into the bowl with the machine running on lowest speed.

Keep it running until the dough begins to come together. You can add a drizzle of oil now (or do it at the end with your hands too). At this stage you can see if the dough needs more water. Only add 1tbsp at a time.

When the dough starts to come together, it will look deceptively dry. Don't get fooled by that. When its mixed further, it will be fine.

Almost done.

All done. See how moist the dough now looks? I didn't add any water after what you see in the previous pictures. Its possible that the dough is a bit stickier than how it turns out when you knead by hand. Add in a bit more flour and give a final knead with your fingers. I usually do this and also add oil (although nowadays I add oil when the dough is mixing because it doesn't seem to make any difference in the end). Adding oil is, of course, optional.

Note: you can use a maximum of 4 cups flour (and the remaining ingredients) to make chapati dough in your Kitchenaid. Anything over that seems to strain the machine and the blade tends to make some sound as the dough is almost ready.

Ergo Chef Knives - A Review

I love knives.

After cooking pots, they are my biggest kitchen obsession and I often try to pick up knives as varied as possible. I did get 2 knives from the US during my recent trip but that's for another post because today I am going to talk to you about Ergo Chef Knives.

Update: I would probably recommend Pure Komachi knives over these. They are cheaper and last equally as long.



Pros:

- They are gorgeous
- They are ergonomic and that's great for people who spend a lot of time chopping
- They are super sharp, as knives should be
- The cutting blade is very thin and this allows for very smooth and thin slicing. I don't think I have ever sliced onions this pretty before or minced up coriander leaves so fine before
- The knives are heavy at the front so it naturally lends more weight on whatever you are chopping up. That's clever.
- They don't cost a bomb. I have ogled at Wusthof knives for a long time but I just can't afford them at this time. I am not sure how these compare to that brand but honestly, I am happy with Ergo Knives.



Cons:

- If you like light knives that are easy to hold in hand for chopping (the Kerala way, will post pics soon) or peeling, then the chef knife is too heavy for that job
- They look serious and don't come in colours. May not be a con to you but is somewhat of a boo for me
- You only get them in the US at this time and shipping to your country if you live outside it may prove a bit expensive. But then again, now you know what you can ask your friends and family in Amrika can bring a food-lover like you next time they visit!

Here are the two knives I picked form the website and have been using for the past 2 weeks.



The 6" Chef Knife and the 3.5" Paring Knife.

Leave a comment if you have any questions on best uses, or any other details.

**disclosure - I have received no monetary compensation for this post. I did, however, get to pick two knives from the website and got these for free but under no obligation to review or say nice things about. All opinions are honest and my own**