Airfryer recipes, Healthy recipes with the airfryer, Is the airfyer worth?

Tefal launched the actifry which is the first air fryer way back in 2007. Then came Phillips in 2010, with their patented rapid air technology. And now almost every well-known name in the food industry has started manufacturing air fryers. You don’t even have to get confused if you are planning to buy an air fryer, coz there are so many wonderful reviews on the net to help you decide.

I joined the bandwagon by purchasing the Phillips air fryer with 800g capacity. I have been using it for quite some time now, and am definitely satisfied. It is a boon for people who consume lots of deep-fried stuff. If used in the way it has to be used, the finished product is very close to the deep-fried ones and guilt-free too. The major downside is that it is too small for a big family, though price which was a matter of concern has come down drastically.

For people in Qatar, the latest offer price I came across in May 2018 is QR 369 for 0.8kg at Lulu hypermarket and QR 499 for 1.2kgs at Carrefour. ( It was QR999 when I bought it. Since we used Nojoom points for the purchase, we had to pay only QR 200 and so it did not pinch me 🙂 ) The 1.2kg version looks too bulky and clumsy compared to the 0.8kg version. I am not sure about the offers on other air fryers. But since Phillips was the costliest of the ones available here, the other brands also should have brought down their prices competitively.

I will first give my thoughts on the air fryer and then head on to recipes with air fryer that I have tried out. Read on and then decide if you really want to go for it.

Most air fryers come with a recipe booklet to guide beginners and there a lot of air fryer recipes out on the internet. I also keep trying something or the other. So what I would suggest is that you go through the recipes that I keep posting here, as well as those you find on the internet and then decide whether or not to buy. It is definitely not a must-have equipment in the kitchen, though it can add to your healthy gadgets.

And since the prices have come down a lot over the years, in my view it’s worth. Or if you can use some reward points or gift vouchers like I did, it is well bought. The picture above shows recipes that I had made with my air fryer. I did not use any oil for the fish fry as well as the french fries but had to use a bit of oil for the cutlets and fillets.

My first vote will be for the french fries, especially the frozen ones that you get at the stores. Even without oil, it comes out so crispy. So you can totally avoid the second deep fry. And it’s so easy and mess-free that even kids can get it done.
Fishes get fried to perfection, as they already contain lots of fat in them. Chicken thighs and other fatty meat portions also work absolutely fine.
For lean meats you need to coat with a layer of flour to seal the moisture inside and then baste with oil halfway through, to get the same deep-fried effect.
Samosas, cutlets, etc also have to be basted midway. They taste good but if you are too used to having these snacks deep-fried, then you will not find the texture okay. I have tried cutlets and falafels to the satisfaction of my family.
Battered foods can never be made in an air fryer. So if you are a South Indian interested in bajjis, vadais, etc, this one is not for you.
Popcorns can be made, but some of them get stuck onto the heating element at the top.
Dry fritters like pappad, vadagams, etc did not work for me.