Best Mixer Grinders Buying Guide in India 2020

What is a Mixer Grinder?

A mixer grinder is an electrical appliance used to mix different ingredients together required for cooking food. A mixer grinder is also used to grind pulses, grains, green chillies, garlic, ginger, and even dry spices into a fine powder or paste. It is used for making chutneys, an irreplaceable side dish in Indian cuisine, making a batter for dosas and idlis, etc. Use it for ice cream shakes and you can even chop vegetables and mincemeat. Wet and dry grinding- it can do both. It saves considerable time and effort that would otherwise be spent on manual grinding.

Why should you buy a Mixer Grinder?

Ginger-garlic paste, red and green chilli paste, dry ground spices, chutneys, and masalas form an integral part of Indian cooking. This is what makes a mixer grinder an indispensable appliance to an Indian kitchen. Compared to the good old days when all the masalas were ground manually on a grinding stone, in today’s hectic times, it is impossible to invest so much time and energy on the cumbersome task of grinding and mixing. Therefore, a mixer grinder that can grind food ingredients into a much finer paste in a matter of minutes by the press of a button has become a necessity. You need a mixer grinder for such hassle-free grinding.

That’s not all, you can make tomato puree for your tomato pasta, or you can whip up ice-cream shakes for the children at home.

Some mixers also come with an atta kneading attachment. This attachment helps you knead all kinds of dough used for making different types of breads. This appliance is versatile and can help you cook different cuisines.

What are the different types of Mixer Grinders?

1. Mixer
   A mixer mixes or grinds ingredients in a semi-liquid state. It is generally used for making purees and batter. There are two types of mixers-
   1. Stand Mixer- It has an especially powerful motor that mixes hard ingredients. All your batters and dough are made in this.
   2. Hand Mixer- It is used for less voluminous substances. Think egg beating.
2. Grinder
   A grinder literally grinds- the motor is a grade stronger than a mixer’s. Both dry and wet substances can be made into powder. You can easily make powders with cereals and nuts. There are mainly two types-
   1. Coffee Grinder- It is used for grinding coffee beans into powder for your caffeine fix. Fresh and aromatic coffee will be at your disposal.
   2. Meat Grinder- It is especially meant for grinding different types of meat due to a powerful motor and its parts are easy-to-clean.
3. Mixer Grinder
   It is a combination appliance that combines the functions of mixers and grinders. It has two jars- one for wet products and the other for dry ones.
4. Juicer Mixer Grinder
   It is an all-in-one appliance and includes all functions of juicing, mixing and grinding. The motor is specialized and this appliance has the maximum number of jars.

What should you look for when buying a Mixer Grinder?

There are a few basic things you need to ask yourself when you go to buy mixer grinder.

Type of Mixer Grinder:

You have to ask yourself what is it that I want to purchase the best mixer grinder for. What would be the use of a mixer grinder? Based on that, you can choose whether you want to settle for a mixer grinder or buy a juicer mixer grinder instead.

Size/Number of Jars:

You need to figure out the size of the mixer grinder. If you live in a joint family, you will need a heavy-duty mixer grinder with large jars. More jars mean more functions. So you should choose a mixer that offers you multiple jars.Normally, a mixer grinder will have two separate jars for dry and wet grinding.

The wet grinding jar has a lid that fits tightly. It can be used to grind coconut or making different types of chutneys. The dry grinding jar is typically the smaller of the two. It is useful for grinding materials like spices or grains into a fine powder.

If you are from a nuclear family or are living alone, a small-sized mixer grinder with two jars will be more than sufficient for you.

Levels of Speed:

Look for mixer grinders that offer multiple levels of speed. Different speed levels allow you to operate the mixer grinder at different speeds and thereby result in a more versatile performance.

Buy a model with at least three levels of speed. Delicate food can be processed at lower speeds, while higher speeds are useful for faster and efficient processing of coarse ingredients. If you desire to have very fine paste of your material, you need to operate the machine at very high speeds.

Rating in Minutes

It is nothing but the time for which a mixer grinder runs continuously. Generally, running it for 30 minutes is safe. The motor needs a break, or else the appliance can get spoilt very fast due to continuous beating and heat.

Revolutions per minute:
This metric, also known as RPM, stands for the number of times a mixer grinder will revolve in 60 seconds. Typically, Indian mixer grinders offer RPM of between 5,000 and 20,000. Note that too much speed is not good. For normal tasks, a speed of up to 10,000 RPM is ideal.

Power:

Higher the Wattage, the more powerful is the motor. For a typical Indian kitchen, a mixer grinder with a power of 500 Watts is sufficient. If you have a large family, you should opt for a mixer grinder with a motor of 750 Watts as you can grind more in a single jar. But remember, the more the number of Watts, the higher is the noise.

Price/Budget:

What is your budget for the mixer grinder?Are you willing to spend generously or are you price conscious? Depending on how much you want to part with in bringing home the machine, you can do a price comparison between the different brands.Mixer grinders with juicers are more expensive than ones without juicers. Also, mixer grinders with both dry and wet grinding capabilities are priced higher.

Safety

It’s important to consider safety aspects like earthing. Damaged electronic appliances can be a reason for mishaps like shocks.

Overload Protection:

Sometimes we tend to overfill our jars with material or run the mixer for an invariably longer time, in that case, there is a risk of burning the mixer’s motor due to overload. To avoid this, some mixer grinder companies offer an overload protection function that acts as a circuit breaker in case of overload, thereby preventing the machine from further damage.

Incher/Pulse Facility:

Incher facility controls the speed of the mixer and helps in chopping delicate food items such as tomatoes, parsley, boiled eggs and prevents thinning them out into a fine paste.

Lock:

The lock system of the mixer grinder is an important safety feature. You cannot start the machine unless the jar is properly locked on the main assembly unit.

Maintenance:    

If you are a low maintenance person and do not like cleaning jobs, you may want to avoid buying a mixer grinder with too many jars and attachments. A simple two jar model that is easy to maintain would be the best for you.

Durability:

Since a mixer grinder is an appliance that has to be used almost daily, it is necessary that the machine and its parts are made of durable material. Mixer grinders with steel jars and break-proof plastic lids are ideal for heavy users.

Warranty:

Different companies offer different warranties on mixer grinder models. It is better to ask about the warranties offered on the products so that in the future, the servicing and replacements of your mixer grinder are taken care of in case anything goes wrong.

For mixer grinders, you will get a warranty of between 2 and 5 years. Some of the brands provide a higher warranty of 7 years, but that applies only to the motor and not to the body of the mixer grinder.