So, after >2500 rotis - update* me/us on the pros and cons. I'm pondering noise, heat, and of course, cost-effectiveness for a single person. Also paging @Viswamitra. * I do remember the original discussion. I'm looking for revisions & updates based on ... hmmm, what, a year's use?
Houston, So far the mission has been smooth and uneventful. Except, the commander in chief handed over the filling flour, water, oil, etc. besides making rotis and cleaning the lower portion of the Rotimatic after every use and once in two months detailing cleaning to me. No noticeable trouble so far. We are not as much roti eaters and hence the record indicates the following: 1,143 rotis - 69 hours of savings - 11,169 KCAL dodged - Saved $606 so far. Remember, I was involved in R & D funding of the project a little earlier and hence paid only $400 for the Rotimatic (present value $999). Payload has already paid for the mission.
1) Noise level - Lower than Mixie but higher than Washer/Dryer. 2) Heat - Advisable distance from nearby kitchen appliances or shelves is 9 inches. Expect higher heat level after 6 minutes of warming up time. Since you are single, you are not going to make more than single digit rotis unless you invite a lot of guests to showcase your robotic system. 3) Cost effectiveness - Pay back period might be 3-4 years for a single person - Based on $0.53 per roti, $1,069 for Rotimatic with 7% sales-tax, you are looking at making approximately 2,017 rotis to be made before complete write off of the system (without adding any charge for your time). @Gauri03 has already crossed that limit assuming no charge for her time.
I've had mine for 2 years now. Received it in May 2017. I've had 2 issues with it so far and one was my fault. I pulled too hard while removing one of the plastic parts and broke it. Since it was within the warranty period they replaced it at no cost. Second time the metal plates overheated and the thermal fuse tripped. I called customer service and they remotely reset the machine. I paid $999 for it and it's been worth every penny. As of now not including cost of ingredients (flour and oil), the rotis are ~26c a piece. We use it ~4 times a week and way more when parents/in laws are here. For a single person who eats rotis at least 2-3 times a week I would recommend it. The payback period would be longer but one can't put a price on the saved effort/processed rotis avoided. And you can make puris, and bajra rotis too. The puris come rolled out and need to be fried. I've seen people use them as wrappers for samosas, dumplings and bunch of other things. It is noisy for sure. If you have an open concept kitchen plus family room the noise is significant enough to bother the television watchers. My husband calls it the 'infernal contraption'. Heat is not an issue unless you place it in a tight spot against a wall. A few inches of clearance is all it needs. As to quality of rotis, handmade rotis will beat the rotimatic any day but my in laws, parents, brothers, SILs and sundry relatives from India had no complaints at all. Everybody agreed that for the time and energy saved the rotis were quite good. Rotis can be made ahead of time and stored in an air tight container for a couple of hours and stored overnight rolled up in a napkin and placed in a Ziploc bag. They stay soft and pliable. I did buy the extended warranty for 2 additional years after mine expired this April. Cost $229 but considering the number of moving parts and heating elements in the appliance I felt it was a safe investment.
Continuing: I read that the Rotimatic makes 12-14 rotis per cycle. That's more than enough for one person - the question is, how much time does that take?
Hi Soka, It can make much more than that and I have tried making 40 and 60 rotis at a time. It is designed to stop intermittently to rest after 9-10 rotis. 6 minutes to warm up and a minute for every roti after that excluding the waiting time after 9-10 rotis for the machine to rest. These rotis are not 9 to 12 inches in diameter and probably 8 inches in diameter. But soft and layered and remain eatable if stored properly. You need at least 3-4 for each meal for a man along with sabji, and it should take about 10 minutes for you from the time you order the machine to complete the process. Fill flour, water and oil, press start, after the self-check is over, press make rotis and adjust the number as you need and press yes again. Remember it is always connected through WiFi and hence anytime when you send troubleshooting message, someone is available to answer through text or even fix the system remotely. But don't forget to choose the brand of flour you are using. Cleaning: Cleaning is needed only the part in which dough is made after every use. The overall cleaning is needed depending on use once a month or once in two months.
@mangaii definition of bad taste can vary. For example, some might find threads by women about their husband's shortcomings and limitations or about their child's behavior issues as being in bad taste -- shared online without the knowledge of the husband or the child, to remain posted online for ever. One could wonder what is the purpose of sharing such personal stuff with strangers who are not professionally qualified to help. Or, one could say loko bhinna ruchi (different people, different tastes). I prefer the latter approach when I see threads I find to be in bad taste. The redundancy label could be applied to your threads about software budget, decision making tools, frugal India trip? There are tons of resources on these topics that are not hard to read and understand?
