The evolution of oven cooking

Traditional cooking styles have always been the focal point of cuisines around the world and they play vital roles in shaping up the culinary trend of a region or civilisations. One important aspect to be a successful food connoisseur or food critic is to understand how the particular cooking style evolved and reached its current form. One such cooking style that I will discuss in this article is the evolution of oven cooking. Oven has been significant in cooking, and has evolved from the nomadic clay or sand pit ovens in the beginning to modern day rotary or automatic combi ovens, which are self-capable of sensing the food being cooked inside and make necessary adjustments. Cooking of food items started when a piece of food accidentally fell into an open fire and tasted much better than raw. Greeks are believed to be the inventors of oven, which they used to cook their breads. The cooking fires were placed on the ground and were enclosed to retain the heat inside and cook the food faster and in a more controlled way. The oven then travelled across Europe and was mainly used in the bread making and brick making. The smoke produced in the oven due to burning wood was a major challenge to maintain the temperature inside and to keep the oven fired for longer time, thus the chimney was invented to extract the smoke out of the oven. Inventors began making improvements to the existing ovens and one significant change was the oven build in Alsace, France which was entirely made of brick and tiles and was much more efficient. After that inventors started exploring other efficient fuel options like kerosene, gas, diesel and the recent electric ovens. One significant achievement was the patent of gas oven by British inventor James Sharp in 1826. Gas ovens were found in most households by the 1920 and had top burners and oven underneath it. The evolution of gas oven was delayed a bit because of gas lines, which were not that common. Electricity became the popular choice for both commercial and household ovens. The biggest advantage of electric ovens was its convenient operation and accurate temperature control. Electric ovens also improved manifolds and have come a long way since then. The new rotary ovens and the latest combitherm ovens are perfect example of latest technology being introduced in ovens. These ovens are fully programmable and self-capable of baking, roasting, frying, steaming and grilling. Going back to where we started from, the clay oven is still unique and has its own charm and imparts earthy flavour to the food cooked inside. It also requires a special skill to work with clay oven as the temperature in the oven is way above 400 Degrees Celsius and bred and kebabs are cooked at the same time. The below recipe is a delight for the vegetarian readers and is simple to cook. Yellow Chilli Tandoori SubjiIngredients (serves 4)Potato 2 noCottage cheese 150 gmBell pepper 2 noBroccoli 1 head Onion 1noMushrooms 10-12 pcsGreen chilli big 4 noYoghurt, hung ½ cupGinger garlic paste 2 tbspCoriander powder 1 tspYellow chilli powder ½ tspTurmeric powder ½ tspLemon juice 1 tbspMustard oil 2 tbspSalt to taste Chat masala ½ tspCoriander leaves, chop 2 tbspKasoori methi 1 tspButter 2 tbspGarnishLemon wedge 4-5 noCoriander sprig few nosTamarind sauce to accompanyMethodHand the yoghurt in a muslin cloth overnight to remove moisture and make it thick.Wash and cut the potato into 1.5 inch cubes and parboil them and keep aside.Dice the capsicum and onion, boil the broccoli florets, and wash and stem the mushrooms.Cut the cottage cheese into cubes and keep aside.In a separate bowl, take the hung yoghurt and add ginger garlic paste, coriander powder, yellow chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, lemon juice and mustard oil, chat masala, and kasoori methi. Whisk well till the mixture is smooth and creamy.Add the prepared vegetables into the marinade and rub them with the prepared marinade.Place the prepared vegetables on the skewer and place in a clay oven tandoor.Roast till the vegetables are cooked and the marinade is crispy from outside.Baste with melted butter to add flavour, remove from the skewer and place in the serving plate.Sprinkle chat masala on top and serve hot garnished with lemon wedge, coriander sprig and tamarind sauce.Note: You can use your electric oven in the absence of clay oven.