Will an air fryer change my life?

So lets all agree, air fryer means tiny oven/grill/fry pan. If you can cook in those methods, you can cook it in an air fryer

Lets all agree that air fryer ( tiny oven ) can, and does (bove the most basic of models ), a lot more then "air fry"

Lets also agree that its a great help in the kitchen and it doesn't just cook "beige food"

Some even do sous vide , Im pretty sure "commoners" wouldn't have a clue what that is but hey its a function :)

No an air fryer is not going to change your life or make you a better cook. However if like myself Im a busy person, come home from work tired, have often forgotten to get something out of the freezer, they are a brilliant bit of kit

Mine was acquired from a colleague three years ago for a tenner (expat...people sell their stuff when they move on, which is excellent for long stayers like me!).

It's a basic, older model with one drawer & I absolutely love it.

When I first bought it I had 3 teenage dc at home & it was super handy for them cooking beige snacks.

It was also a useful bit of kit for family cooking - roasting a chicken to have with salad, or doing chips to go with something on the hob, or garlic bread or samosas etc etc.

I still used my oven quite a bit when cooking for four, but the AF was really useful when only part of the meal needed an oven.

Now down to me & dd2 at home & I'd say I seldom need the oven.

Tomorrow I'm doing roast salmon with tapenade (AF) alongside lemon mash with broccoli steamed over the potatoes. Less faff than panfrying the salmon & quicker than the oven.

Would I buy a fancier model when this one packs up? Probably not. I'd buy another 2nd hand one.

So it might be worth considering how much you want to spend on bells & whistles - but yes, absolutely great piece of kit.

Please bear in mind that you could use ninja speedi to do a prawn curry in normal way with long slow sauté etc. this is just a quicker ninja speedi way and my way for a nice mid week dinner.
Mix raw king prawns (cleaned) with onions, mushrooms, garlic, chilli and any other curry spices e.g. garam masala etc.Marinate for a little while. Then put rice in bottom of pot with half coconut milk and water. Put the top crisper tray on and put the marinated ingredients there. Run speedi meals setting for 10 minutes. Once 10 minutes is up mix everything together and steam for 10 mins. 20 MINUTES IN TOTAL! Just to save confusion as the bolognaise was also 20 minutes in total and very similar to this recipe. Just different ingredients. You can obviously add some grated coconut and other ingredients before the final 10 minutes steaming. Because of the raw prawns I would turn them over after 5 mins on speedi meals setting,

a good thing is that you don’t need to watch it or stand over it as it won’t stick to the bottom with this method. The onions prawns etc. are crisped up nicely before being mixed in and so saves sautéing them.

From previous feedback it’s obviously not for everyone. And it’s about experimenting with the equipment. To get what suits yourselves.

I'm a big ninja fan!
I just went from xl grill to the one you are talking about
9.5 litres. Perfect for us a family of 5 and when we have a few guest!
Can cook 4 separate things at once

Big game changer

I would certainly appreciate the recipe please!

I have this one and love it. I’ve used my actual oven about 5 times in 1 1/2 years 😆 easy to clean and everything cooks quickly. I love the rotisserie function and the chip basket as it can evenly cook chips but also smaller things like nuggets. Perfect for those nights where you just need to heat something quickly. Edit to add that because it doesn’t have drawers I use 9” square baking tins for stuff like pasta bake, lasagne, Sheperds pie etc. also handy for chicken fillets etc or smaller portions of food.

https://www.daewooelectricals.com/kitchen-c54/air-fryers-c24/daewoo-12l-rotisserie-air-fryer-oven-p191

I thought it just blew it over the top.

I've got a Cosori pressure cooker, it cooks a stew or a gammon joint in less than 40mins it's can excellent piece of kit. I have 2 air fryers the first single basket one (retired also Cosori) and the ninja double drawer with meat thermometer, that didn't really work as was demonstrated. Tbh the Cosori would probably be better for me because the one basket it more roomy (and I rarely use the 2 together)

@soupfiend it's an air fryer/pressure cooker/ multi cooker.

I was going to give the recipe for the ‘best prawn curry’ ever in the ninja speedi. But I’m not sure it would be appreciated.

I personally don’t think that an air fryer changes your life but I do think that a multi-functional cooker like the ninja speedi (other brands are available) certainly can improve life quality. Air frying is just the least that it can do.

Ok you have a point. It is the best bolognaise for a mid-week meal with no effort and very healthy. Obviously a ‘gourmet’ bolognaise made by Marcus waring that was simmered gently over an open wood smoke fire in an Italian chateau with reduced Rioja and Parmesan from La Rinascente may taste even better.
I loved my version though.

Probably a really daft question, but doesn't a silicone liner defeat the point? I thought the air was supposed to flow through.

If it's the 'best bolognaise ever', the pp must have had some pretty dire bolognaise

Im not sure what is lazy about cooking with a particular piece of equipment or appliance, what on earth does that mean?

@Cyclingmummy1 what is the 15 in 1?

My Ninja 15 in 1 has broken and I'm bereft. Didn't realise how much we used it.

We bought ours to improve our diets as, for various reasons, we were all now eating at different times.

Much easier and nicer to marinade 3-4 chicken breast/salmon fillet etc with a few spices or a marinade, and chop up some veg to roast and leave in the fridge ready to use. Then each person can stick their own portion in the airfryer when they get home/are ready to eat and get freshly cooked food in 20m.

We eat less white pasta and white rice because it is easier to do meat and veg (including some potatoes/sweet potatoes along with other mixed veg). dh/ds also enjoy a burger most weeks and in the airfryer a lot of the excess fat drains away compared to pan frying. Oven chips are much nicer in the airfryer and they do use them but only once/twice a week, they now prefer potato wedges as they cook much easier than on a tray in the oven.

I agree it is "lazy" cooking, but lazy doesn't mean unhealthy.

I agree. Such a silly comment.

You can do everything in them you do in an oven
I eat healthy.
Educate yourself.

How do you fit a baguette in? Do you have to chop it up into small pieces?
Why gold skin down on chicken please?

How do you cook a whole pizza in one?

Mine was only used when Dd was home as she did quite a few things in it so when she went to university I gave it to her she uses it most days I don’t miss it.I tend to use my slow cooker more than my oven.
My mum on the other hand also uses hers most days and cooks all sorts in it and rarely uses her oven

I'm also going to look at an omelette at some point as egg poured into a paper tray once and cooked really nicely, without sticking. (It's basically baking parchment)

You can get silicone inserts too

It's just a small oven but it's so bloody useful. It's smaller so quicker and uses less energy.

I roast a big pile of veg with a very tiny amount of oil in a paper tray insert, just tossing occasionally. I find a big pile gets less burnt and is then also slightly steamed. Much quicker than an oven. Have done tofu in it too, no oil.

A latest recipe is eggs in avocados with a little bit of smoked salmon - scoop out the stone and a little more avocado, put a sliver of salmon in and the egg on top. Bake for about 10 mins or to how you want your eggs

I now do all meat in ours - salmon, chicken and even a roast beef. Ninja duo (two drawers are really handy) but also has the meat thermometer which I thought would be useless but makes the best roasts ever.

If doing chicken thighs, turn skin down for half of it.

Refresh baguettes and similar loaves in a few mins.

Generally use the paper trays for most things now just for ease.

See above. It was 20 mins total. 10 mins crisps up the onions bacon etc. on speedi meals setting whilst also cooking the spaghetti. then steam the lot for 10 mins. I really enjoyed it and minimum hassle. Everyone is different though.

Dh bought one on a whim a couple of months ago. Used it once and then it sat in the utility room and has now been passed on 😂
As far as I could tell it was just for heating convenience food up for one or two people quickly or for people who don’t cook properly (sorry!!!), we just didn’t see how it would be any use for our family of 5, often 6,
He was stupid to buy it but is always quick to waste money!