<p>Biomass cookstoves have historically served as critical tools for meeting cooking energy needs in developing and underdeveloped regions. However, traditional cookstoves (TCS) suffer from poor efficiency and emit harmful pollutants, posing serious health and environmental challenges. This review traces the evolution of biomass cookstoves, offering a comprehensive historical perspective from early designs to improved cookstoves (ICS). It classifies cookstoves based on key parameters and highlights technological advancements, particularly the role of gasification principles in enhancing efficiency, reducing emissions, and improving safety. The study emphasizes the importance of user centric design in fostering widespread community adoption of cookstoves. Testing methodologies used in India and globally to evaluate cookstove performance are thoroughly assessed. Fuel, char, ash, and gas characterization is elucidated using general and advanced analytical techniques. Additionally, energy, exergy, and heat transfer analyses for cookstove applications are surveyed. The role of mathematical modeling in augmenting current cookstove designs is also explored. This work comprises a review relating biochar as a byproduct of cooking processes along with its multifaceted applications for improving environmental outcomes. Overall, the present review comprehensively covers key aspects of the cookstove developments, highlighting the necessity of ongoing innovation and dissemination of cleaner cooking technologies to improve public health and promote environmental sustainability with a focus on user centric design, characterization of input and output materials, and the utilization and advancement of biochar.</p>