Best Microwaves In India- Review & Buying Guide
The Microwave Oven is identified as the fastest cooking device and among the various advantages of Microwaves the greatest advantage is that it completes the cooking task within minutes without losing the nutrients as well as water content of the food.
In modern times Microwave is identified as one among the most essential utilities in the kitchen. Besides being very quick as well as efficient Microwave can be used as a multipurpose cooking facility since it can cook, roast, heat, bake, grill and toast.
Microwave is a very compact equipment, very easy to use and it functions automatically. Since the time can be set using a touch button Microwave can be used to heat cooked food without burning.
The Microwave Oven produces microwaves inside it by converting electric energy into microwave radiations. As a result of the radiation heat is generated and the food gets cooked.
Since Microwave ovens effectively prevent prolonged cooking as well as overcooking, all the nutrients including vitamins present in the food are preserved. Microwave cooking requires comparatively lesser quantity of oil.
Microwaves enable the housewives to pay more attention to other works in the home by considerably reducing the time required for cooking.
Microwaves can be used for defrosting food items also. The air inside the kitchen is not heated up because of microwave cooking.
Different types of Microwave Ovens
Based on the functionality as well as form of the appliance, there are basically three different types of Microwave Ovens – Solo, Grill and Convection oven.
One can easily choose the right type of Microwave oven for his/her kitchen if he/she has a clear idea as to how and for what purpose the device is going to be used in the kitchen.
When we buy the equipment exactly as per our requirement we can make the purchase well within the budget also. Buying the best quality Microwave that lasts for a long time is indeed a wise investment.
Now let us examine the three different types of Microwaves.
SOLO
Solo type Microwaves are ideal for small families with not more than 3 members. Comparatively Solo type is less expensive.
This type of Microwave oven is available in the price range Rs.4000 – Rs.8000. This Microwave oven is provided with a magnetron for producing microwaves. This type of oven is used for simple cooking, heating, etc. This oven ensures uniform heating.
Solo type Microwaves are with sufficient flexibility so that they are ideal for conducting trials with new recipes and new dishes. However, this type of ovens are without the advanced features such as reheating and defrosting.
GRILL
This type of Microwave ovens are ideal for grilling and reheating and are the best for grilling vegetables, paneer and meat. The oven is provided with heating coils that facilitate grilling, toasting and roasting. The microwave and grill functions are performed simultaneously.
It will take only very few minutes to prepare tasty grills. With this type of Microwave oven you can prepare toasts, tikka and kababs. This type of oven is smaller than the Convection type.
CONVECTION
The Convection Microwave has an integrated fan for uniform circulation of heat waves so as to avoid temperature differences. Food gets baked very well in this type of oven. This oven is very fast also. Those who want to bake pizzas, cakes and muffins should use Convection Microwave.
Grilling and baking can be carried out either together or separately using this oven. The advantage of Convection Microwave is that it can function as a standard Microwave, a grill Microwave and also as a Baking Oven.
This type of Microwave ovens come in different sizes – from 20 litres to 40 litres. The average Indian families prefer the small size Convection Microwave Ovens which are comparatively less expensive and also ensure consistent performance.
Apart from heat, grill, bake and brown this oven has defrost option also.
9 Best Microwave ovens
Also Read: Best Mixer Grinder Review & Guide.
Features:–
- 23L : Suitable for families with 3 to 4 members
- Solo: Can be used for reheating, defrosting and cooking
- Indian recipes for quick preparation, Easy cleaning of interiors with Ceramic Enamel cavity
- Warranty: 1 year on Product & 1 year on Magnetron & 10 years on Cavity
- Brand does NOT provide a starter kit with this product
- Control: Tact button and Jog Dials that are easy to use with a long life
- Child Lock: Ensures complete safety especially for homes with small children
- Voltage- 230 volts
- Material- 18/10 steel
- Dimension :Â Cavity (WxHxD): 330 x 211 x 324mm
                        Outside (WxHxD): 489 x 275 x 374mm
                        Gross (WxHxD): 552 x 326 x 423mm - Â
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Simple and stylish
- Easy to clean
Cons:
- Black Glass is so dark that one cannot see inside even the light is on
Features:–
- Warranty: 1 year on product, 3 years on magnetron and cavity
- Capacity: 17 liters
- Type: Solo
- Voltage- 230 volts
- Wattage- 1200 watts
- Material- stainless- steel
- Special feature- Mechanical Knob
- Flexi Power Controls- Change the power level as required by your food item.
- Rotary controls for easily setting heating level and time.
- Retro finish
- A good conductor of heat, stainless steel helps save energy.
- Just enter the weight of the food item for easy defrosting.
- Make complex Indian dishes in minutes with the touch of a button
Pros:-
- Easy to use
- 5 power modes
- Small and compact
- Good enough for normal use
- Reasonable price
Cons:-
- No digital display
- Setting temperature less than a minute is difficult
 Features:–
- 17L Capacity: Suitable for bachelors or small families
- Solo: Can be used for reheating, defrosting and cooking, TIMER/CLOCK: Yes
- Warranty: 1 year on product, 1 year on magnetron
- Brand does not provide a starter kit with this product
- Control: Jog dials that are easy to use with a long life
- Cooking complete alarm , Power Consumption: 1200 watts
- Power Levels – Choose between 5 different power levels to cook as per your need. This feature allows you to control the temperature as per the cooking requirement
- 30 minutes cooking time alarm
- Wattage- 700 watts
- Material- stainless- steel
Pros:-
- Easy to use
- Value for money
- Good for heating
- Compact in size
- Reasonable price
Cons:
- Bit noisy
- No door handle
Features–
- 20L Capacity: Suitable for bachelors & small families.
- The microwave frequency is 2450 MHz
- Convection: Can be used for baking along with grilling, reheating, defrosting and cooking
- Warranty: 1 year on Product & 3 years on Magnetron & Cavity
- Brand provides a starter kit with this product
- Control: Touch Key Pad (Membrane) is sensitive to touch and easy to clean
- Child Lock: Ensures complete safety especially for homes with small children
- Special features: 24 auto cook menu options
- Voltage- 230 volts
- Wattage- 1200 watts
- It provides multi-stage cooking.
- Auto-set to cook in different styles. Stores 3 types of cooking cycles in its memory.
- Enter the weight of the food item you wish to defrost
- Reheats your food with auto programmed time and power levels.
- Easy to read digital numbers keep you informed about cooking time, power level and time at every stage of use.
- Outer dimension- (h x w x d) : 262 x 452 x 390 mm
- Weight- approx 14.3 Kg
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Value for money
- Compact size
- Enough preset modes
- Comes with a starter kit
Cons:
- Little bit noisy
- Customer support is poor
Features–
- 30L Capacity: Suitable for large families
- Dimension (H X W X D-mm)300 x 539 x 440
- Convection: Can be used for baking along with grilling, reheating, defrosting and cooking
- Warranty: 1 year on product and 3 years on Magnetron and Cavity
- Power Source (V~HZ): 230~50
- Microwave Frequency (MHZ): 2450; Turntable Diameter (mm): 315
- Control: Touch Key Pad (Membrane) is sensitive to touch and easy to clean
- Child Lock: Ensures complete safety especially for homes with small children
- Control: Touch Key Pad (Membrane) is sensitive to touch and easy to clean
- Special features: 101 auto-cook menu options, express cooking, auto reheat and deodorize, weight defrost, steam clean and multi stage cooking
- Brand provides starter kit with this product
- Voltage- 230 volts
- Wattage- 2200 watts
- Ferment at your leisure – dough/batter/milk products.
- Complete germ care – sterilise baby bottles and other vital utensils in minutes.
- Auto cook settings help change your auto cook settings without having to cancel them. 101 standard menus.
- Keep the temperature of your food constant without overcooking worries. Use this low pulse up to 90 minutes.
- A variable power and bill saving feature that offers pre-set choices depending on your menu.
- Cooking fast forwarded! Set the weight and just press the buttons.
- Advance programming helps beat the clock. Your meal is ready at the right time, anytime
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Value for money
- Power saving
- Heats the food just in 30 second
- Comes with a starter kit
Cons:
- Customer support is poor
Features–
- 28L : Suitable for large families
- Convection: Can be used for baking along with grilling, reheating, defrosting and cooking
- Slimfry technology : Enjoy healthier fried food without deep fryer.
- Turntable Size : 318 mm
- Warranty : 1 year on Product & 5 years on Megnetron & 10 years on Ceramic Cavity
- Brand does NOT provide a starter kit with this product
- Control: Touch Key Pad (Membrane) is sensitive to touch and easy to clean
- Child Lock: Ensures complete safety especially for homes with small children
- Material- ceramic enamel Â
- Deodorization setting quickly eliminates any bad smells
- Enables you to use large dishes which fill the whole oven by stopping the turntable from rotating
- Variety of pre-programmed local recipes, it helps save your time in the kitchen.
- Ice blue LED provides clear information.
- Its Stylish design is perfectly fitted in any style of kitchen.
- It is easy to clean, anti-bacterial and scratch-resistant.
- Tandoor technology
Pros:
- All in one microwave
- Capacity is good
- Great cooking with Indian recipe option
- Value for money
Cons:
- Customer support is average
- Plug Wire is short
Features–
- Warranty: 1 year on product, 5 years on magnetron
- Capacity- 23 liters
- Solo, tact and dial control buttons.
- Output Power (Microwave) 800 W
- Power defrost function
- Sleek design
- Power Consumption (Microwave):1150W
- Keep warm function
- Child Lock: Ensures complete safety especially for homes with small children
- Voltage- 230 volts
- Material- ceramic
- Dimension : Outside (WxHxD): 489 x 275 x 338mm
- Weight- 12 kg
- Black STSS door
- 16 recipe modes
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Perfect size for small kitchen
- Great for everyday use
- Heating is too good
Cons:
- Black Glass is so dark that one cannot see inside even the light is on.
- Grilling is not available
Features–
- 32L Capacity: Suitable for large families
- Convection: Can be used for baking along with grilling, reheating, defrosting and cooking
- 1 year on product and 1+ 4 years on Magnetron. (From the date of Purchase)
- Brand provides starter kit with this product
- Control: Tactile buttons to set the temperature/timer & Jog Dials that are simple to use with a long life
- Special features: 211 Indian auto cook menu options, tact dial, pasteurize milk with Ghee, dosa, paneer, curd, 301 auto cook menu options
- Power Requirement: AC 230 V, 50 Hz
- Other Features: Jog Dial, Light Disinfect, Multi Cook Tawa, Next Step Guide
- Other Convenience Features: Keep Warm, Custom Cook, Body Massage Oil, Quick Menu, Defrost Non Veg, Quick Defrost, Defrost Veg, Fermentation
- Wattage -2500 Watts
- Material- Stainless steel
- Prepare 12 different varieties of exotic Indian Rotis at just one touch.
- 360 degree rotation. Even cooking
- Ghee in just 12 minutes
- Material – ABS
- Can make homemade paneer and curd
Pros:
- Value for money
- Can grill in 360 degree rotation
- Stylish look
- Have all the latest features
Cons:
- Big in size (not for small kitchen)
- Not easy to operate for new person
Features–
- 28L Capacity: Suitable for large families with 251 Auto Cook Menu
- Indian Auto Cook Menu: 175
- Convection: Can be used for baking along with grilling, reheating, defrosting and cooking
- 1 year on product and additional 4 years on Magnetron
- Brand provides a starter kit with this product
- Touch Key Pad (Membrane) is sensitive to touch and easy to clean
- Quartz heater: Concealed Heating. Safer Cooking
- Hygienic ghee with absolutely no smell is a matter of just 12 minutes.
- Stainless steel cavity
- Child Lock: Ensures complete safety especially for homes with small children
- Voltage-220 volts
- Material- Stainless steel
- Make paneer curd at home
- Keeps food at just the right temperature for up to 90 minutes.
- Comes with variety of auto cook menu specially designed for health and calorie conscious people.
- The concealed heater eliminates the risk of any form of hand injury. Faster but also safer to use, it gives you an advantage of making large portions in one go
Pros:
- Value for money
- Many programmed functions
- Can make ghee from cream
- Less sound
Cons:
- No manual Book
- Grilling is not up to the mark
Buying Guide for Microwave Ovens
Capacity & power output
Those who want to do cooking in single rooms, small apartments or offices, boats and camps may opt for the Compact Microwaves which are of the smallest size.
‘These small ovens will yield 500 watts to 800 watts. When power output is lower, the time taken for cooking will be more. Those who search for smaller Microwave ovens to warm the meal for one, to heat water or to toast bread can opt for the “do-it-all” model of the compact microwave.
There are fancy models also with maximum 24 toaster settings and 10 settings for automatic cooking.
Those who need Microwave Oven to cook full meals for the whole family can go for the full-size ovens. The largest size oven will be of 2.2 cubic feet.
The Full-size Microwave Oven will produce 1000 – 1600 watts of power and when the entire meals are to be cooked the oven that deliver more power is the best. Microwave Ovens of medium size will deliver 800 – 1000 watts.
All the three types of Microwave – Solo, Grill and Convection can be used for reheating of food.
Grill as well as Convection type ovens can be used for making Grilled items.
Convection type Oven is used for making Pizza and baking cakes, cookies, bread etc.
Capacity Vs Number of people
15 – 20 litres————up to 3 people
25 – 30 litres————4 to 5 people
30+ litres—————-more than 5 people
Panel Types
Good control panel is essential for a Microwave Oven to ensure easy as well as safe use of the device. There are three different types of Control Panel – Mechanical, Feather Touch and Tactile Buttons.
Mechanical – the panel is easy to use and is durable
Feather Touch – touch screen type panel which appears stylish and is quite easy to clean
Tactile Buttons – Panel provided with Jog-wheel controls, setting time as well as temperature is very easy
FEATURES
- Auto Cook
The Auto Cook Menu feature simplifies the preparation of various recipes by offering preset programs. When the user selects the code for a particular dish, the power as well as cooking time will be set automatically along with the weight of the dish.
- Auto Defrost
The Auto Defrost feature enables quick as well as easy unfreezing of the food. When the weight of the frozen food is given as input the oven will automatically set the program.
- Pre-heat
You can use the Pre-heat feature to set the temperature of your oven prior to cooking. This feature is very useful for preparing cakes, cookies, etc. and also various recipes that require the grill function.
- Child Lock
When there are toddlers in the home it is safe to have the Child Lock feature for your Microwave Oven
- Rotisserie
Rotisserie feature is very useful when meat, poultry, paneer and vegetables are to be barbecued or grilled.
- Shortcut settings
When pizza, potatoes, popcorn or frozen stuffs are to be cooked, the Microwave oven with the Shortcut settings will automatically set the power levels as well as cooking time.
- Pre-programmed menus
Those who can afford to buy the most expensive Microwave ovens can have numerous menu items that are pre-programmed. For cooking these menus you need not set the time or power level since they are already programmed.
- Automatic Sensors
When the Microwave model has automatic sensors, the oven will automatically shut off the moment the cooking is over. When this feature is provided with the Microwave oven the user need not set a timer. There will be neither undercooking nor overcooking.
- Variable Power Controls
Using the Variable Power Controls feature food can be simmered at 50% power and defrosting can be done at 30% power. Thus, the Microwave Oven need not function at full power always.
- Interlocks
Interlocks ensure that the Microwave Oven doesn’t run if its door opens. When there are 2 or 3 interlocks, when one lock goes out of order, another lock will work.
- Timer
When you want to stop automatically a cooking or heating program after a specific duration you can set the Timer of the Microwave Oven. There will be a Bell sound to indicate end of the program.
Popular Microwave Oven Brands
In no particular order, the best Microwaves in India are:
IFB
SAMSUNG
LG
GODREJ
MORPHY RICHARDS
PANASONIC
Also Read: Best Washing Machine Review & Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
This article would not be complete without talking about the questions people frequently ask as it concerns Microwaves.
Here’s a look at some of the questions:
What is the concept of Microwave cooking?
Microwave cooking is basically a process known as dielectric heating. When the food is exposed to electromagnetic radiation within the microwave frequency range, heat energy is directly channeled to the molecules of the food. As a result the polar molecules in the food rotate and produce thermal energy. Heat is generated when there is friction between the food molecules and consequently the food is cooked.
Is it safe to cook in Microwave?
If used in the proper way it is 100% safe to cook in Microwave. It is very important to use only “microwave safe” containers inside the Microwave oven. When plastic containers are used they will melt because of the excessive heat and the cooked food gets contaminated with harmful chemicals. It is a myth that all nutrition of the food is lost when cooked in Microwave oven. The truth is that the cooked food from the Microwave will have the same nutrition it had before cooking.
How to clean a Microwave?
Lime, lemon or orange slices are squeezed and the juice is mixed with 1 Cup of water in a microwave-safe bowl. Instead of the juice apple cider vinegar can also be used. After keeping the bowl inside the oven turn the oven on high power for a few minutes so that the mixture starts boiling and steam appears on the window. After cooling for 5 minutes open the oven, take the bowl out and wipe the inside of the oven with a sponge.
The exterior of the Microwave also should be cleaned to get rid of the grease and smudges. The rubber gasket around the door is cleaned using a wet sponge and then the gasket is kept dipped in water containing a small quantity of baking soda. Then wipe the gasket with a damp cloth.
The greasy window of the Microwave is cleaned by wiping with a 50/50 mixture of water and vinegar. The door of the Microwave is wiped with a grease-cutting cleaner or with a mixture of water and dish soap. The cleaner is applied on the door using a sponge or cloth so that the cleaner will not go into the vent holes.
Which vessels can be put in the Microwave?
The vessels made of aluminium ensure even baking.
For baking in Microwave, containers made of ceramic as well as Borosil glass are also good.
Silicon-pans are the best vessels for using inside Microwave. They are easy to use mainly because of their non-stick surface. Ensure that the temperature limit specified by the manufacturer of the silicon-pans should be adhered to.
Aluminium vessels can be used in Microwave only for the convection mode.
Why Microwave sparks?
When the microwaves hit a metal object inside the appliance sparks are produced. When metal is present inside Microwave, the electrons are made to move around causing formation of sparks and heat. Even a small piece of metal inside the Microwave can produce sparks.
When the wave guide cover over the magnetron of the Microwave is damaged, it will produce sparks. The damaged cover must be replaced with a new wave guide cover.
If the paint on the Rack support of the Microwave is worn out, the Microwave will spark. The Rack support should be replaced with a new one.
Sparks will form when the high voltage diodes get shorted or burned.
When the utensils kept inside the oven are not Microwave-compatible, sparks will be produced.
Do Microwave Ovens cause cancer?
The purpose of using microwaves is to heat the food without causing any harm to the food stuff and without changing the properties of the food. The foods are not affected by any form of radioactive waves and hence the ovens never cause cancer.
Char and tars, which are carcinogenic are never formed as a result of cooking in a Microwave Oven.
Microwaving never leads to production of acrylamide in potatoes which is a carcinogen.
Is Microwave cooking safe for cardiac patients with pacemakers?
Now pacemakers are worn inside the body so that they are protected. Also, frequencies produced by the modern Microwaves do not interfere with pacemakers and other electronic devices. Hence Microwave cooking is 100% safe for those who are with pacemakers.
