What?
The Wonderchef Automatic Soup Maker that makes soup at the touch of a button. It’s a 3-piece affair, with a fairly heavy blender jug; a lid mounted with a sensor, blade and motor; and a detachable cord (all 2kg). If you put it on the kitchen counter, it looks like a large steel kettle, and doesn’t take up much space.
How does it work?
Chop your vegetables into 2-centimetre-size cubes. Load the machine and fill it to either a maximum or minimum (marked on the jug) point. Close, select the programme: puree, chunky, compote, smoothie, blend. There are preset times for each function, and soup-making involves cooking the raw ingredients and churning them as well.
Is it any good?
It’s very good actually, if you’re prepared for a 10-minute prep time for the veggies. Once you get familiar around it (and if you’re a seasoned cook), you’ll realise it’s also helpful for gravies, especially if you don’t want the traditional bhuna masala and want to go added-oil-free. The recipe booklet, endorsed by Sanjeev Kapoor, (he’s also a co-founder of the company) is help to get started, if you’re a nervous cook.
What’s tech about it?
The fact that it’s an all-in-one kitchen appliance. Imagine making soup the conventional way: you cut the vegetables, pressure-cook them, wait for them to cool, blend, warm up again and serve. There’s lots to do and a whole lot of washing up. Here, you simply prep, plug in, press a button and wait either 21 minutes (for smooth soup) or 28 minutes (for chunky soup). You lose no pith, keeping nutrition up and the stress of burning those veggies down. If you want to add a few ingredients, such as yoghurt after the process, you also have a blend function that can be activated. Compote is handy too, though it’s more of a weekend feature you’re likely to use to top pancakes.
What’s to be careful with?
We left the soup to cook on the kitchen counter, about half a metre from the upper cabinetry, only to find the steam had condensed over the cupboards in dripping-wet amounts, so it’s best to use it in a tiled area. It’ll take a couple of minutes to wash up the container and the blade, because you don’t want the motor getting wet or your househelp to cut herself with the very-sharp blade. And leaving the lid around just about anywhere (to dry), is not an option, especially if you have young kids.
Any bad?
It’s meant for a family, so you can’t really do just one or two cups (unless you’re willing to freeze for a week or are a couple and eat soup for a meal). The minimum it’ll take is 1,300 ml (the max is 1,600). Also, while the user manual talks of a ‘smoothie’ programme, the instrument says ‘juicer’, which is confusing. You can’t actually juice anything in it, because if you put in an orange, you’ll get the seeds whipped up, but you can do smoothies, using both the juicer and blending programmes. One wouldn’t really buy this for that particular reason.
Who needs it?
Anyone who has young kids who object vehemently to veggies, is a senior who has a problem chewing, those living in cold areas, people who like to entertain the old-fashioned way beginning with soup. And of course, those who simply must try a new piece of kitchen equipment.
What’ll it set you back by?
₹9,000 (on offer for ₹6,999 at wonderchef.in ) with a 2-year warranty.
