For cooking, time is very essential. Modern day living does not allow the slow way of cooking practice. One device that has defined the clock in the kitchen is the microwave oven. It not only cooks faster but is also healthier and moreover it is convenient to use.

Microwaves
1. Microwaves are a form of the electro-magnetic energy.
2. The microwave oven is designed to generate electro-magnetic waves, which are contained in the cooking cavity.


Microwaves act in three different ways.
Absorption: When the food is micro waved, the water molecules present in the food get stimulated and heated up and so the energy of the microwave is concentrated on cooking the food faster. Transmission: Microwaves are attached only to water molecules and so they ignore everything else except the food to be cooked. Reflection: Microwaves are absorbed by food and pass through materials like glass, china, wood, paper and plastic, but they reflect on metal.

Types of ovens:
There are two types of microwave ovens
1. Simple microwave oven
2. Microwave and convection oven.


The microwave oven these days provides its users greater facilities. It can cooks food as well as re-heats it. The convection system heats, browns and dries the surface of the food for crisping. This type of combination cooking is best for tandoori dishes and the convection system alone is best suited for cakes and other pastry - based appetisers that need a flaky crust. But for microwave/ convection combination cooking, the cookware should be both heatproof and micro safe. For convection cooking, the cookware needs only to be heatproof.

Advantages of microwave cooking
1. Microwaves cook food evenly, quickly and efficiently.
2. Nutrients are preserved and the actual taste of the food is retained to a higher degree.
3. Only a minimum amount of oil is required for cooking continental as well as traditional Indian dishes and so it seems desirable from the health point of view.
4. Microwave has various uses like de-frosting, re-heating, etc.

Indian Microwave Cooking
It is possible to cook delicious Indian food in microwaves. Unlike the conventional indian food, microwave cooked food is low calorie. The process of cooking the food is clean and efficient. Food could be served in the same vessel one cooked in. So there is less washing involved. Enjoy a great Cooking time !