Air Fryer Buying Guide for India 2023

Air Fryer is a replacement for Deep Frying and Pan Frying. The main objective of this machine is to get you Naturally Dried Fried Food which has obvious Important Benefits especially in today’s times. In this Air Fryer Buying Guide we will have a look at the Working, Benefits, Drawbacks, Uses, Recipes, Important Aspects (capacity, controls, price, etc), Types, Features, and Brands.

After going through this Air Fryer buying guide, we recommend you to check the Top 13 Best Air Fryer in India for 2023. This will help you get the Best fit model for your usage.

Air Fryer is a namesake. It doesn’t fry food! It gives the look, feel, and taste of fried foods. There is a chamber inside which converts electricity into hot air and throws it inside. This hot air is circulated by a fast rotating fan. The inner construction is such that this hot air hits the food from all possible angles rapidly. This is what gives a similar action performed by traditional frying methods where hot oil is the agent instead of hot air.

An Air Fryer gives you a similar fried food experience with around 70% less oil compared to traditional deep frying and pan frying. Thus, keeps you away from high calories and fats which in-turn avoids heart-related illnesses. Moreover, it excels in taste, and also gives crispiness.

Food is prepared fast in an air fryer because of the small space and rapid heat action. Thus, it is great for people who mostly have ready-to-eat foods Instantly. For instance, if a recipe requires 15 minutes cooking via oil in tawa then it will require 12 mins in an air fryer. Moreover, it does not overcook the food from inside. Besides, it is versatile as shown below with Roast, Bake, Grill (oven-type models have a rotisserie), and other features. You can also use it for whole foods.

It retains more nutrients compared to deep-frying. Thus, you get most of the real flavor of the food. Moreover, it is energy efficient (most use around 1200W) and environment friendly. Also, you save on oil and gas bills.

Air Fryers are a bit high on Price. This is because they are relatively new in the Indian market. Also, they are in demand among healthy food enthusiasts. However, with DesiDime around, you are sure to get it in your budget so wait for the right time to buy.

Most Indian air fryers are compact so for large families you might need to cook in batches. You can go for a large sized or dual one, but they will be around ₹3k-5k costlier compared to a similar sized oven.

You need to shake/rotate/turn the food at times during the cooking process. This is to ensure even browning and heat to all parts of the food. Some don’t like the hassle of remembering to do this activity. However, there are paddle-type air fryers to the rescue. Also, some high-end models give you an alert.

It is possible that your food might get burned out! This may be due to excessive dryness. As told earlier, an air fryer is a device that works on circulating hot air quickly. Thus, it is recommended to apply some oil (avocado, sunflower, groundnut, or olive oil) to pure dry foods and vegetables. Fish and Chicken have oil naturally in them so there is no need for such type of food. Also, it may lead to charred food which can be carcinogenic.

If you are looking to make batter related food then Air Fryer is not for you. Also, in most of the budget models you won’t be able to see the food while it is being cooked.

These can sometimes be difficult to clean. Even though it is a non-stick basket, foods like chicken are seen as leftovers. Moreover, if the basket is textured heavily i.e. many holes and gaps then cleaning may seem like a big task.

Some Air Fryers are bulky so may not fit in your kitchen. But yes, they are lightweight so can port it elsewhere in the home for usage.

Some prefer the taste of deep-frying over air frying. However, I believe that air frying should be adapted with the given health benefits, and a bit of compromise over taste.

An Air Fryer is a versatile machine. You can consider it as an Advanced Mini Oven or OTG. It can do the following things:-

• Roast

• Bake

• Air Fry deep-fried dishes

• Reheat (some food get soggy in an oven, but here you get better results)

• Keep food Warm (some models have this feature)

• Grill (approx 60% compared to in an oven with rotisserie)

• Ferment (some models have this feature)

• Defrosting

• Dehydrating

• Toast

• Cook ready-to-eat foods

Make a note that not all models come with the above modes. However, bake, air fry, roast, and grill is available in most of the brands.

Below are some of the popular Indian dishes you can make in an air fryer.

• French Fries

• Chicken Nuggets

• Veg Cutlet

• Kebabs

• Starters

• Samosa

• Kachori

• Cake

• Donut

• Bread

• Roasted Vegetables

• Fermented foods

• Paneer Tikka

• Pizza

• Fish Fry

• Roasted Nuts

• Chips (soak in water for 30 mins and dry with tea towel beforehand)

• Sweet Corn (Bhutta)

• Pakoda

• Cheese Balls

• Chicken Drumsticks

• Shrimp

• Spring Rolls

• Meat dishes

• Masala Mushrooms

• mozzarella sticks

Most of the branded companies have 2L and 4L capacity air fryers. These are suitable for small (upto 3 members) and medium-sized (3-5 members) families respectively. You will also find 6L and 12L air fryers, with 12L being a mini oven type. It is recommended to buy some extra capacity because if you need it often then you will be able to cook more food at a time.

The mini oven type air fryers lets you cook a complete meal via 2-3 racks. There are also dual air fryers which have 2 different baskets for cooking different food at the same time. These are mostly large in capacity. Finally, beware that Brands promote the Pan Capacity and not the Actual Basket Capacity. For instance, a 4 Litre air fryer can make only 2.5-3 Litres food.

Air Fryers come with 2 types, Dial and Digital controls. The dial one needs to be rotated manually to set time and temperature. On the other hand, digital ones have LED displays and touch screen panels which makes it a popular option today. Here, you can see the exact time and temperatures you set. Some models also have 5-8 preset buttons like chicken, fries, pizza, shrimp, cake, fish, meat, vegetables, and more. Besides, there are bake, grill, roast, defreeze, and air fry cooking modes. The Instant Pot air fryer also has a status display. It lets you know whether the air fryer is preheating, cooking, giving you a shake alert, or has the food ready.

If you wanna spend less then go for the dial controlled air fryer. You will take time to get the right temperature, time, food quantity, etc settings for different foods, but in the long run will be fruitful. If you can shell out some more money and need more features then go for the digital one.

There are also air fryers with wifi connectivity just like the one from Mi brand. It lets you control the machine from your mobile phone via an app. Also, some have voice control via Google Assistant or Alexa. Many companies provide an app, but they are just for recipes and basic info so worthless.

Look for a sturdy built air fryer. You can check this by experiencing the outer body of the machine with hard hands. Some high-end models have a stainless steel body which is suitable for high durability. On the inside, most brands have a non-stick coated basket. Look for an rectangular-oval shaped basket as it can accommodate more food evenly. Make sure you don’t get burnt while using the basket handle when the machine is in usage. Almost all branded air fryers have a cool handle so no need to worry on this part, but yes if your usage is very high then you need to check.

There are different Temperature requirements for different food which you used to fry earlier on low, medium, and high gas flames. Checkout the settings required for an air fryer below. However, trial-and-error is the best method to find the ideal temperature and time for a particular dish.

Pricing of branded air fryers in India will range from around ₹4,000 to ₹12,000 (oven-type). You can buy anywhere around ₹7,000 because models in this price range will have most of the needed things. These include digital-type, preset menu, good enough capacity, low noise, faster processing, better look & feel, and more advanced features. You can also go for a budget ₹5000 air fryer which has all the basic required features. The Instant Vortex Plus 6L air fryer goes to as high as ₹37,000! 

Brands such as Philips, Inalsa, and Wonderchef have a 2 year warranty on air fryers whereas Solara and Instant give a 1 year warranty. Thus, expect a 1-2 year warranty.

These come with a round dial to control time and temperature as told earlier. Some high-end models also have a display screen on it.

Here you get an LED or LCD display with touch screen buttons including preset menus. You can set your exact time and temperature. Also, some can set you a cooking mode. These may also have wifi connectivity for operating via mobile.

Paddle type air fryers have a rotating paddle which stirs food automatically & continuously for even cooking. Thus, you don’t have to worry about shaking the food at regular intervals. You won’t find much of these available to buy in India. These are recommended for chefs and people who keep on experimenting with food and try to make many different fried foods.

The oven-based model is nothing but a microwave oven with the air frying feature. Here, the design differs from a solo oven as the controls are on the top instead of sides. Thus, you can bake, grill, roast, toast, air fry, and do much more. The best part here is that you get ample space for air frying a whole meal at once. However, these are not as effective as the traditional air fryers where hot air travels rapidly so you need to compromise a bit on some or the other thing. If you are also looking to buy an oven then this type is the best serving both purposes. Look for a round rotating basket especially made for air frying.

Dual air fryers have 2 compartments in a basket to help cook 2 different foods simultaneously. Thus, there are 2 different control panels. These are mostly large in size and capacity ideal for large families or more food at a time. Ensure that both compartments are well distinguished else different food tastes will mix up resulting in low quality food.

As the name suggests, it is a multi-cooker with an air frying option. These are not popular in India. Also, they are hard to find in the Indian market. Costing-wise also it will be on the higher side among all other types.

• Pat food dry before placing it in the basket.

• Use an oil sprayer for garnishing food with oil. Foods containing oil naturally like chicken and fish don’t need any oil add-on.

• Remove the basket in the mid-process and shake it gently so that food gets even browning from all sides.

• Don’t fill the basket completely as it won’t allow proper heat circulation to all. Thus, make sure there are some spaces between food particles. Besides, piling them up is not a good practice.

• High fat foods like chicken and fish might have leftovers so clean it up before using the machine again.

• Some brands and models allow the use of parchment paper. Place it at the base of the basket and then put food over it. It helps keep the inside clean, and also avoids overheated food.

• Scheduling: This is a rare feature which allows you to keep the food ready automatically when you reach home at the set time.

• Preset Menu: It includes 5-8 options from popular Indian cuisines like pizza, fries, cake, chicken, fish, mushrooms, paneer tikka, shrimp, samosa, pakoda, and many more.

• Cooking Modes: Most of them include Bake, Roast, Air Fry, Grill, Reheat, and DeFreeze. High-end ones may also have DeHydrate, Rotisserie Grill, Ferment (takes 24 hrs), and specialized ones.

• Accessories: Recipes, Pot Mitts, Parchment Paper, and extra Trays.

• Timer: 2 timers are available, upto 30 mins and 60 mins. Most will have a 30 mins timer. Besides, large capacity air fryers can have a 60 mins timer.

• Auto Cut-off: It may happen that due to prolonged continuous use, the air fryer gets overheated. In this case, the Auto Cut-off feature turns off the machine to avoid damages. Air Fryers have an exhaust system, but might fail in extreme cases.

• Digital Touch Screen Panel: Let's set accurate time & temperature along with different cooking modes. Also includes on/off buttons.

• Dishwasher Safe Parts: Most have dishwasher safe parts, but still it’s better to be guaranteed.

• Indicators: These show the status of the machine i.e. preheating, cooking, or cooked. Some high-end ones also show a progress bar and indicate when to shake.

• Keep Warm: keeps food hot for a long period of time when inactive. Important for those who don't have a fixed time to eat or get delays.

Below are some of the Best Air Fryer Brands in India. Our recommendation is Philips. It is a bit high on price, but definitely worth it.

• Instant

• Inalsa

• Philips (only brand to have a Patented Rapid Air Circulation Technology)

• Wonderchef

• Solara

• Lifelong

• Havells (costly)

• Pigeon (lowest priced)

• Kent

• Mi (smart air fryer)

• Agaro

We hope you found this Air Fryer Buying Guide useful. Feel free for any queries and suggestions. The ‘Best Air Fryers in India’ list is now live!