Indian restaurants are looking for innovative ways to keep the fire going, literally.
The war in West Asia, and the resulting LPG cylinder shortage has affected the restaurant industry in India. As the stock of cylinders run dry, and supply of new ones pauses, restaurant kitchens are finding workarounds. While some have cut timings, or reduced menu items, may are pivoting to using induction or wood-fired stoves. But many of these changes cannot be made immediately, as they require training, skill, time or additional costs.
In Bengaluru, chef Tresa Francis who runs Coracle in Domlur is redoing her menu now. She adds, “Because I have the luxury of space I am preparing to cook on wood fires for bulk cooking.” She says as of now firewood is available easily in Bengaluru, although the situation may not be the same in the coming few days. But not all restaurants have the luxury of space or indeed can meet all the challenges that come with wood fires. A report from Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu said, firewood that was ₹175 per 25 kg is being quoted at ₹400.
The challenges of a wood fire kitchen
Chef Johnson Ebenezer runs Farmlore outside Bengaluru, a restaurant that is built on the concept firewood cooking. He says, “Cooking with wood fires is a huge challenge. All my life I used to cook on gas. When I shifted to wood fire I had to learn a lot. You cannot control the temperature on an open flame. The cooking times are different, and you have to understand and adapt to that kind of cooking.” He also explains how any kitchen cannot change to using wood fire. “We have designed our kitchen with heavy duty exhausts to handle the smoke and the soot that comes from wood fire cooking. All of a sudden, a kitchen cannot change to this method.”
Induction cooking is not the same
Over in Hyderabad, Ravitej Ravuri, partner at Satti Babu Biryani, says switching to induction will take a lot of infrastructure change in the kitchens. Even if that is taken care of, things that are fried in smaller batches, such as their specialty fries, are not easy to do on electric stoves. Additionally, he explains, to change the cooking methods to induction, each dish will have to go through trails, as food cooks differently on gas stoves versus inductions. This process will take time and will affect their overhead costs.
Slower cooking time
Grana Pizzeria, a popular Kochi-based pizzeria posted an Instagram story last night stating that they were transitioning to using wood as their primary fuel for the pizza oven because of the shortage of commercial LPG, which would mean that pizzas would take longer to reach the table. Abraham Mathew of Grana has been exploring alternative options to meet the current situation since it became a reality.
He says, “The first day of trials has been good. Our capacity has reduced because earlier we could bake four pizzas at a time. Now we can only do two as the wood fire takes up a lot of space in the oven, so on a busy night it will be a challenge.”
Wood fires a safety hazard in a closed kitchen set up
Sreejith M of one of Kochi’s biryani hotspots The Biryani Store is firewood as an alternative. “Generally, 90% of commercial kitchens are not equipped for wood-fired stoves. Another important factor is that one’s muscle memory [while cooking] is adapted to cooking on gas stoves,” he says. A system fine-tuned to work in an ideal situation where there is no shortage, adapting will take time.
“I will need at least a week to figure out cooking this way. Probably at a time when electricity is cheaper, one could explore that option but, right now, it is not a viable option for me,” he adds.
A restaurant in Vallakadavu that was forced to shut down its operations yesterday following non availability of cooking gas, used firewood to temporarily resume cooking in order to cater for customers breaking their fast Ramzan month fasting in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
At Naivedyam Restaurant in Visakhapatnam, the team has begun preparing breakfast and a few main dishes using wood fire as gas supplies remain uncertain. “Gas vendors have clearly told us they won’t be able to supply cylinders for the next few days, so we had to look for immediate alternatives,” says Raja Sekhar Reddy of Naivedyam.
“The real challenge is not just finding dried firewood; transporting it has become expensive too,” he explains. While the experiment is underway at Naivedyam, replicating it elsewhere is not easy. At his other restaurant, Athidhi Devo Bhava in Lawsons Bay Colony, Reddy says the option is nearly impossible. “My restaurant is surrounded by houses and built as an eco-structure. If we start using wood fire, the smoke will become a problem for neighbours, so I cannot take that risk,” he says. The shift also exposes a generational gap in kitchen skills. “Only old-school masters who know how to manage a wood flame will be able to cope,” he adds.
Chefs cooking on wood fire at Chiranjeevi Dhaba in Hyderabad | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
On the other hand, Chiranjeevi Dhaba in Hyderabad, which is designed as an open kitchen and uses firewood, is thanking its stars for the concept. Prasad Medidi of the dhaba says, “Our kitchen was designed to use firewood because of our menu. Dhaba food without the flavour of smoke would not match up to the name or the concept.”
With inputs from Shilpa Nair, Nivedita Gangulyand Prabalika M Borah
Published - March 12, 2026 08:18 pm IST
