Ranchi, Jharkhand, India.
Practical innovations.

Fed by a steady stream of air whirling out of a rustic looking electric fan, a bed of charcoal kindle on a solidly built hearth of brick and clay inside a restaurant that like many other popular eating joints in the city of Ranchi, see charcoal as a more economically viable alternative to changing gas cylinders every now and then – specially when it comes to catering to an unending clientele from late afternoon to late at night.

Though charcoal and coal differ in composition, both are used in India for cooking and heating purposes with the state of Jharkhand itself owning some of the largest coal reserves, annually producing around 81.17 billion metric tons of the fossil fuel, and among which, the Jharia coal field sprawled over an approximate 110 square mile area, still supplies and satiates more than half of the country’s demand.

The restaurant’s customized hearth (in the photo) has three cooking pits to put in layers of the carbon fuel and comes with vents underneath for cleaning and providing a steady supply of air for even heating and raising temperatures in the absence of a modern but expensive cooking range with regulator knobs.