Udaipur Craftsman Builds a Multi-Function Stove That Can Cook for 25 People in 30 Minutes

A remarkable grassroots innovation from Udaipur, Rajasthan, is drawing attention for its simple approach to a familiar problem: how to cook large quantities of food while using less time and firewood.

The invention, known as the Vishwaguru Chulha, was developed by Udaipur-based iron craftsman Mohammad Sher Khan. Reports say Khan studied until Class 8 and spent years experimenting with the design after observing the amount of time, labour and fuel required to prepare multiple dishes separately.

Unlike a conventional stove designed primarily for one cooking task, the Vishwaguru Chulha uses a multi-level arrangement that allows different cooking processes to take place using the same heat source.

One Stove, Multiple Cooking Tasks

The central idea behind the design is heat utilisation.

According to reports, the stove has different sections for different cooking requirements. The lower section can be used for boiling or simmering foods such as dal and curries, while the middle section can be used for frying or grilling. The upper section can be used for baking rotis, bread and other foods.

This arrangement means that heat generated from a single fire can be directed toward several cooking tasks instead of being used sequentially.

In conventional cooking, preparing several dishes for a large group can require multiple burners, separate vessels and considerably more fuel. The Vishwaguru Chulha attempts to combine these processes into a single integrated system.

Designed Around a Real-World Problem

The story behind the stove is as interesting as the machine itself.

Reports say Sher Khan began working on the concept after noticing women spending long periods preparing food, particularly when dishes such as dal and baati had to be cooked separately. Instead of treating the problem as simply a cooking issue, he approached it as an engineering problem: how could the same heat source perform several jobs simultaneously?

That thinking eventually led to years of experimentation and modifications.

According to published reports, the design was patented in 2017 after prototypes had been tested in homes and small eateries.

The 2-Kilogram Firewood Claim

One of the most widely reported features of the stove is its claimed fuel efficiency.

Sher Khan has said that the Vishwaguru Chulha can prepare food for around 25 people in approximately 30 minutes while using about 2 kilograms of firewood, compared with around 10 kilograms cited for conventional cooking in similar circumstances.

These figures are manufacturer/inventor claims reported by media outlets rather than the result of an independently published controlled efficiency study. They should therefore be viewed accordingly.

Even with that qualification, the underlying engineering principle is straightforward: using heat for multiple cooking operations at the same time can reduce the amount of energy wasted between separate cooking cycles.

Why the Design Is Different

The stove’s interesting feature is not necessarily advanced electronics or automation. It is thermal integration.

A single combustion source produces heat that would normally escape into the surrounding environment. The multi-level structure attempts to capture and redirect that heat to different cooking zones.

In practical terms, this can mean:

Boiling below → frying or grilling in the middle → baking above

The arrangement allows several stages of food preparation to happen simultaneously.

That makes the concept particularly relevant to places where large quantities of food need to be prepared, such as small eateries, dhabas, community kitchens, events and other group-cooking environments.

From a Small Workshop to a Larger Idea

The Vishwaguru Chulha is also an example of grassroots engineering.

Innovation is often associated with laboratories filled with sophisticated equipment, research institutions and highly specialised engineers. But many useful technologies begin with people who encounter a practical problem repeatedly and start experimenting with solutions.

Sher Khan’s work demonstrates that mechanical innovation can emerge from hands-on experience with materials, heat and everyday requirements.

Reports have said that the stove has been used by households, dhabas and small businesses, while recent media coverage has brought renewed attention to the invention.

Could It Reduce Fuel Consumption?

Potentially, yes—but the exact savings depend on how the stove is operated, what is being cooked, the moisture content and type of wood, cooking loads, ventilation and several other variables.

The design’s biggest potential advantage is that it attempts to extract more useful cooking work from the same fire.

If one heat source can simultaneously boil a large vessel, fry another food item and bake something above it, the user does not have to repeatedly start separate fires or burners.

However, claims about fuel savings should ideally be established through standardised comparative testing before making precise efficiency conclusions.

An Interesting Example of Indian Grassroots Innovation

The Vishwaguru Chulha highlights an important aspect of engineering: innovation does not always mean making something more complicated.

Sometimes, innovation means taking an existing process and asking a simple question:

Can the wasted energy be used for something else?

That principle is visible in the stove’s layered architecture. Instead of allowing heat from a wood fire to escape after completing one cooking task, the design attempts to use the same thermal energy across multiple levels.

For communities and small businesses where fuel cost, cooking time and equipment availability matter, such an approach could have practical value.

The story from Udaipur is therefore about more than a stove. It is about how observation, experimentation and practical craftsmanship can produce an engineering solution without relying on sophisticated technology.

And perhaps that is the most interesting lesson: some of the most useful innovations begin not in a high-tech laboratory, but with someone noticing an everyday problem and deciding to build a better solution.