Solar powered rice cooker
When a person thinks about cooking rice, as a rule, three ways come to mind: an electric rice cooker, a saucepan on the stove or a microwave oven. The similarity between these approaches is, of course, that all this requires electricity. An alternative option is to use a solar oven, which also has the added advantage of being powered by renewable energy sources, more precisely, from the sun.
The fact that the use of a solar oven does not require electricity, that the technique does not have a carbon footprint at all, and that rice is the basis of a carbohydrate diet for millions of people around the world makes this option particularly attractive.
This is not just another possible option, the whole concept of "solar" cooking with rice and similar carbohydrates has developed in some areas of India to such an extent that more than 5,000 dishes are cooked daily in various large public kitchens using solar reflectors or collective reflectors of Scheffler .
From a perspective perspective, using a solar oven as a rice cooker is an amazingly simple, efficient and quick way. Even the preheating of water that is used to make rice can be done in a solar oven, according to the principles underlying the use of renewable energy sources.
In terms of the actual process, the solar oven must first be placed in the sun for heating. After 30 minutes, you need to fill the solar pot with less than 70% of ordinary room-temperature water, close the lid tightly on it, put it in a solar oven and place it under the bright sunlight.
Water in a saucepan should be heated for about 3 hours, by this time the water should be already very hot, perhaps even boiling. Carefully use a pair of thick special gloves to remove the lid and add the appropriate amount of rice (usually 1-2 cups of rice is the amount needed for a family of four, depending on the dish.) For example, chicken a la King requires more rice than, Say, a stew, in this case you need 2 cups).
Close the lid on the solar pot and put the pot back in the solar oven. Cook the rice until ready (check after about 30-40 minutes), gently remove the pot from the solar oven, transfer the rice to a colander and serve it to the table.