What's Cooking: The Latest Trend In New-Age Kitchens

Modern living is transforming with each passing day as new-age amenities are launched taking the modern living quotient a notch higher.

The latest fad in modern living is the concept of two-part modular kitchens - wet and dry.

The families are warming up to the idea of open kitchen and dining mixed into one. The concept is popular in the US where kitchens are just as large as the living room and designed to accommodate people in large numbers.

While an open kitchen might work well for an American household, an Indian kitchen is a strong mix of spices and oils that makes it tough to convert it into a living area. To make modular kitchens a perfect fit for Indian homes, developers and architects are coming up with the concept of two-part kitchens.

What is a dry kitchen?

• Smaller version of a kitchen, which has enough space for a chopping board or area to make meals and beverages that do not involve much cooking equipments.
• This area is easy to clean and can also become a makeshift dining area, leisure area or a laptop counter.
• It comes with plug-ins necessary for modern living. A number of 'intelligent' kitchen appliances can be used in dry kitchens including microwave, toaster, soup maker, air fryer, coffee maker, and water heater.
• The dry area keeps appliances away from the heat prevalent in an Indian kitchen, which can be harmful for appliances.
• Dishwashers, still in the early stages of adoption in India, can be mounted under the dry kitchen area.

What is wet kitchen?

• This area is where the actual cooking, boiling, spilling and staining happens. 
• It is equipped with appliances such as stove, gas connection, mixer and grinder, food processor, and chopper, among others, needed when cooking full meal. 
• The modular wet kitchen should have exhaust fans to make sure that the heat is vented out.
• It should be designed to allow regular or daily scrubbing. 

A perfect example of a two-part kitchen. Divided in two halves, right side is a wet kitchen while left side is a dry kitchen. (Flickr/Tom Chapman)

A number of developers are considering two-part modular kitchens to cater to the growing urban population. It is being received well, especially in the metros with large families, and many others who like open spaces in their home.