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Comment by riddleronroof | Hacker News Reader

Exactly. These are opinion pieces with scary headlines. Almost nothing to back them up. Also strange to talk about developing countries having problems. They usually have chimneys. Hydrochlorides are there because of pans coated with them that burn them off. Guess what, they still end up in food no matter which heating you would use. So the problem is pans, not the heat. Cooking with fire is Lindy. And there is no other way to make rotis, tatziki (char the eggplant) and other things without fire.

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I am from one of those developing countries. A chimney won't help you very much when everybody around you is burning coal/wood/plastic/rubber/bitumen for heat and it's 300 µg/m³ outside. The common suggestion to "open a window" reads like a joke.

Tzatziki is great on eggplant (charred or otherwise), but I've never heard of eggplant being an ingredient in Tzatziki.

Maybe you're thinking of baba ganoush, which is a dip with a charred eggplant and tahini base. I've made it with eggplant broiled in the oven, and it's fine, but I'm sure the taste is different if they're charred over a flame. (Even though you discard the charred shell either way.) That said you could easily accomplish that with a kitchen torch, the kind also used to finish creme brulee or (if you have a big torch) sous vide meats.

A kitchen torch doesn't have enough energy, but one could use an electric or a wood, charcoal or gas grill. There is no way any state is going to take BBQ away from Americans.

There's also a Balkan variation of baba ganoush without tahini, just cooked eggplant, onion and sunflower or olive oil. It's boringly called 'eggplant salad' in my country. The Greek version is very similar and BBQing the eggplant makes even tastier. Another variation of this dish also exists in the Carribean, where it's called baigan choka.

BBQ grills are done outdoors though. They’re not particularly relevant

You must be from Romania =)

There are kitchen torches (Searzall) that are more powerful than most home gas ranges.

Although i agree that gas cooktops have several advantages in cooking non westernized meals, rotis can definitely be made on induction. Been making them since many years now.

got a recipe/walkthrough? I love me some roti, am tired of paying for the stuff made in the big oven/cooker things though. I have an induction cooktop already.

Make a soft dough with flour (ideally whole wheat), water, salt. Kneed thoroughly. List of sit for about 1/2 hour, in a bowl, covered with a cloth. Make smallish balls of of the dough. Dust a flat, hard surface with left over flour, roll into a thin disk of even thickness. The size is less important than the evenness in thickness.

Heat a pan, until a small amount of ghee/butter melts when placed on it. Place the roti on the pan, and cook each side. You will know that it is done when the roti slightly puffs up.

True skill is in making rotis which stay soft in a hotbox.

That last part is definitely not true. You can char stuff with any heat. I use an electric broiler.

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