Roasting or Baking

We often talk about ‘roasting’ fish or meat, when we really mean “baking”. ‘Roasting’ originally meant to cook in front of an open fire and this method was popular in the medieval times when enclosed ovens were only owned by wealthy people. Most of the baking in the 19th century was done in a communal wood-fired oven or in the local bakery. When gas and electric ovens were introduced in the 20th century, almost every home had an oven and that meant kitchen fireplaces and roasting became less common. There were also a few more improvised ways of baking such as cooking food wrapped in parcels in the ashes of a fire or enclosing it in a Dutch oven with hot coals around it.

Roasting or baking is a cooking method where food is cooked in a preheated oven at the required temperature covered or uncovered by indirect dry heat. Like grilling, it is also important that the oven is preheated before placing any food into the oven.

Fish bake, fish pie, mixed vegetable pot pie, mutton or goat meat biryani, butter naan, boal, polenta chips, butter chicken and chicken roast are all recipes that involve baking. In some recipes, for best results I have used baking and grilling one after the other. My seekh kebab and mixed vegetable pot pie are two recipes in which I have used baking and grilling one after the other. I have used the two methods one after the other in order to get the desired browning effect of the surface of the food.

While roasting or baking, please ensure you baste the food occasionally to keep food moist. If you are baking fish, please score the fish through the thickest section to allow even heat penetration. Once the fish is removed from the oven, cover and set aside to rest for 10 minutes to allow time for the juices to settle.