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29 January 2010

Meet My Oven - The Cheap, Basic Oven from India

My butterscotch blondies recipe is special for two reasons:

1. It was my first step by step recipe
2. I posted pictures of my oven and every other reader of this blog immediately had a gazillion questions about it!

Ok, I tend to exaggerate a bit but in this case, its only a teeny bit. True story.

Considering all the emails I have replied (happily, may I add) on the subject, this post is terribly late. But then, here it is, finally, after a break of 9 days, my longest in a while.

This, is my oven.



And this here, is the list of FAQs. Go crazy folks!

Q. Where did you buy the oven? What's the price?

Amma got this for me from Shah Enterprises in Kottayam, Kerala (that's my hometown). The brand name is OK. I am positive you'd get this in most home appliances stores in Kerala although I am not sure of other places. If anyone has seen or heard of this, please leave a comment.

The price is about Rs. 1200. No, I am not going to convert that into USD for you. Sorry, too lazy.

Q. How big is it?

Hmm.. not that big. Its the size of.. hmm.. ok let me put it this way. An 8x8 tray will fit into it just right. Anything bigger, you will have to maneuver it by tilting the sides, etc. Amma has a bigger one so this is available in various sizes, I am sure.



Q. What's the maximum temperature? Can it bake everything from cakes to bread to cookies?

The max temperature is 220C. Usually, cakes and cookies are backed at 180C. For bread, you need a slightly higher temperature but I have baked plain white bread with very good results. In fact,all the baked good in this site are made in this oven. You can check out the recipe index here.


Q. Does the oven come with a warranty? Is it worth carrying all the way from India to somewhere abroad?

The answer to this really depends on how bad you want that oven. I wanted it real bad because the prices in Singapore for ovens is atrocious. I am used to this since amma has had it for over 20 years. Having said that, this thing works on a filament coil heating system so if the filament gets rusted or broken, it will result in a loose contact which is frustrating, especially while baking. So it depends on your luck on the most part. Some may last only a year but most will go on and on forever.


Good luck and if you have more questions, leave a comment and I will answer them :)

Disclaimer: I am not recommending this oven to anyone. This post is more informational since a lot of you had questions about the oven when I put up pics in the butterscotch blondies step by step recipe page. The oven is very basic, quite small and may not work well for all recipes that need to be baked. However, the ones you see on this blog have all been tried and tested in it so you can safely go ahead!


Tried & Tasted By Nagalakshmi V at 14:57
Labels:

56 Comments:

  1. Nice information dear..i should have waited 2 days for ur post .....i booked an Oven for Rs.7900....cute one
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  2. Lovely post Nags!:)
    My MIL has a similar oven and she bakes yummy goodies with it. I dont know where she got it from. Maybe Kerala too, coz she was brought up there. But now got to ask her and clarify:)
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  3. which one did you buy shama?
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  4. Cute oven...I've always used the morphy richards OTG, which worked very well for years...now i have a microwave with convection, so all the baking happens there...
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  5. My mom used the same one -same colour even in ahem..1990 :P she sold it and now she has one from SG (same colour but square).
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  6. oh no yours is all steel, my mom's had a orange steel band around it for show :P
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  7. Never saw a round oven like this before! Its what they say about products that our parents use; it lasts longer and tastes like home :)
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  8. Nags,
    this is the same oven my ma bakes cakes still and sometimes roast vegetables also..last time when I went bcak home for holidays ,even i baked an apple cake in that, it really came out nice ..
    ReplyDelete
  9. When we were small and living at home mom had this kind. She used them for atleast 20 yrs and then it wend bad and she bought a new one and she still use a oven like this now. Even my sis in B'lore is having a oven like this.
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  10. OMG!!! This is exactly what I had when I was a teenager and baked eggy cakes in there. So wonderful to cook at it again, brings back all the memories. Enjoy Nags, it does work, may not be as efficient as a oven but not bad at all. You can bake crackers too in small quantities as well, I used to bake Butter cookies about 6 at a time! :)
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  11. My Mom has something like this, but not as shiny
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  12. I saw this long long back at my neighbor's.... way back in late 80's I think... exact shape and color... I don't remember the brand though...
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  13. I had used this type of oven long back,was my first oven... gr8 for baking cookies
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  14. Nags you are too late..I bought a oven Toyomi for $155 in an offer in Mustafa its a good one. This looks cool...
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  15. I have never used such an oven before, i m sure its worth carrying it to abroad!
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  16. My neighbor had this and she baked her cakes for christmas. It was bigger though. She bought them from Kerala too.
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  17. I never seen such an oven- Cool gadget!
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  18. Yay...we had this OK brand too at home and i used to try baking Rainbow Cake in it :)
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  19. Awww...finally we get to see your favorite obsession! My mom has one of these at home in India - but that's more square! Looks very cute! And it works great - the proof is in the pudding - or rather - your butterscotch blondies!
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  20. I have been following your blog for a while now, with immense pleasure - absolutely adore your writing - and this is the first time I am posting a comment.
    This is the first oven I ever baked with, brings back such lovely memories, old is gold, thank you for sharing.....
    Neeta
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  21. That's really a cute oven, and I believe in you looking at all the baking you do, Now one more gadget to add to my kitchen, see if I can get one!!, thanks for this lovely post
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  22. My mom bought the same type of oven from Nagpur, Maharashtra. So I guess this is available readily in India.
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  23. well..you have to add that amma got this one after my errr mine alone suggestion on the way to Shah ;) ;)...coz Ok was just ok for me.. which I got a few months back from the same place..:)
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  24. I started baking in a similar oven, my mom still has and uses that oven! You've maintained your oven very well, it is gleaming :)
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  25. Hi Nags ,I am here after a long gap.My mom has this type of oven .Do drop by http://padhuskitchen.blogspot.com/ when time permits
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  26. Growing up, my mom had a similar oven from Bajaj but it was made of aluminium (maybe Hindalium). Love this one for the fact that it is so light weight and portable.
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  27. Hi Nags,

    I had posted a comment/questions in ur butterscotch blondies recipe regarding the oven. I have almost a similar one at home which amma bought in the late 80's for some Rs.250. :) It had some complaints cos we weren't using it for a very very long time.. Guess from 1992 we hadn't used it at all. But works perfectly now for around an yr. :)

    shilpa (passion4lyf)
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  28. Hey!!!! nice to see you using this round oven... i have a similar on from 'Bajaj'... i swear by it.... i do all my baking in this... have even gifted these to friends n family... Works like a miracle...
    If anyone in Delhi wants one... let me know, i would help.

    Cheers,
    Nachiketa
    The Variable - Nachiketa
    ReplyDelete
  29. That is quite super - have seen old aluminium versions of this at homes - I'm sure after the sand on gas oven, this was a big relief for bakers then, I'm told my hubby's grandmom used to use this in the days gone by and she would bake cakes, breads, muffins, you name it in this one.
    I didn't know Bajaj made these too - i use a simple bajaj OTG and so far no complaints...

    You know there was a recipe for peanut butter blondies on Rachel Allen - Bake, which really got me interested - should try it soon -

    Cheers
    N
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  30. I remember long ago that our neighbour had an oven like this, though a bit bigger. I also remember mom borrowing it as she wanted to "test" how well it works even though we had an oven. Mommy like it a lot but I think she felt it would be wasteful to have 2 ovens at the time.

    I wish I could get one of these. I have never seen one in the stores around here - you know, everything's fancy dancy these days.
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  31. Hi Nags:

    I have been following u n ur sis for some time now (so happy to see kottayam gals in blogosphere as I hail from aymanam). My mom had a big round oven until a few years back which she gave to her bro n still in good working condition despite 30 plus years of baking (every Christmas mom used to bake 15 to 17 cakes in that). Now I bake in the smallest version of that which belongs to my MIL.. though it takes forever to bake cookies as I cant put more than 4, cakes work well.... cant bake bread as itz so small, so my bread ends up more or less like buns... Also mine doesnt have temp settings too...

    Oh btw, Shah is my fav shop n I swear by it (see traits of kottayam blood is showing up :-) )

    Rgds
    Twinsy
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  32. Such a cute oven!! I would definitely buy it when I come back.. We are lucky, because we have in-built oven here along with the stove :)
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  33. So nice to hear from a fellow Kottayam-ite Twinsy :D Sounds like your oven is a bit smaller than mine although mine is quite tiny too. I can bake up to 8 cookies at a time though :)
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  34. This is the exact same oven my mom used to bake cakes in. I am delighted like a kid to see it :-)
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  35. Nothing can beat a good, ole conventional oven. I prefer my OTG to MW anyday for good baking and grilling. Your posts are like Santa Nags .. bringing little surprises out. :-)
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  36. My mom has same oven. It's nice to discuss gadgets we use.
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  37. My mom bought the same type of oven from Nagpur, Maharashtra. So I guess this is available readily in India.
    ReplyDelete
  38. My Mom has something like this, but not as shiny
    ReplyDelete
  39. Nags,
    this is the same oven my ma bakes cakes still and sometimes roast vegetables also..last time when I went bcak home for holidays ,even i baked an apple cake in that, it really came out nice ..
    ReplyDelete
  40. Never saw a round oven like this before! Its what they say about products that our parents use; it lasts longer and tastes like home :)
    ReplyDelete
  41. Cute oven...I've always used the morphy richards OTG, which worked very well for years...now i have a microwave with convection, so all the baking happens there...
    ReplyDelete
  42. which one did you buy shama?
    ReplyDelete
  43. Hey Nags,
    recently started reading your blog. Love the narration and the pictures are cool.
    Bought a similar oven from Shah Enterprises. Kottayam is my in-laws' place.. :D
    Thanks for the post. I have mailed you some details- pls post it if it could be of help to others.
    ReplyDelete
  44. Thanks a ton for dropping a note Ravitha. I haven't received your email yet, will surely post as soon as I do :)
    ReplyDelete
  45. can u pls give me the brand and other details for this oven please........
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  46. I have mentioned all details in the post, please read through. Thanks.
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  47. Hi Nags,

    Sorry I forgot to send the mail. But now, check your mailbox :D

    Regards,
    Ravitha
    ReplyDelete
  48. can somebody help me with the "photograph" of same kind bajaj round oven's temperature indicating knob sticker.it is very difficult for me without the sticker......thanks in advance

    hope RedChillies or Nachiketa will help me...
    ReplyDelete
  49. iwould like to buy this oven where to buy i stay in bangalore
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  50. where can i get the good old round oven in kolkatta and bangalore...
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  51. please can anyone let me know where to locate this good old round oven in kolkata or bangalore
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  52. How do you preheat this oven?
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  53. Just leave it turned on for 10-15 mins
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  54. where can i get this in ajmer(rajasthan) ....or can i get this as home dellivery....? plz reply
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  55. i wana buy this oven....
    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. i don't know. i haven't even been to rajasthan
      Delete

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