Dear All,
It is my experience. Please observe closely and carefully the inside bottom of your cooker if you are using Hawkins Futura. After about six months, I observed deep holes in the inside bottom. Obviously I got scared and contacted the company through my dealer. Now I got a replacement. What I still wonder is why it should happen at all.
Never leave the water inside the cooker after cooking and try avoiding direct cooking of food. Although we never cooked food directly without using cooking vessels, some times we left the water after cooking till the next cooking. Big deal, it should not create those crates just for that but that was the advise I got from the company. The wholes were looking like as if some insect has attacked the soft wood. I hope I wont get the same problem again.
The only reason I purchased this cooker is that it is very safe. In my opinion, models with outer lid are very dangerous. Sometimes food particles may clog the nozzle and there is no way to make out the same. The pressure wait can easily deceive you when you lift it and the clog can block the steam. Even with the pressure inside, it is possible to open the lid and that can be a disaster. The design of Hawkins does not permit opening of lid when the pressure inside the cooker has not reduced to normal.
Few tips: Simmer the flame as soon as you get the whistle of steam to save fuel. it is only the temperature and pressure of steam, which helps to cook the food, not the whistle. If flame is high, the same temperature is maintained by allowing the steam to escape.
Avoid direct cooking.
Avoid adding lemon or any sour thing to eliminate water deposition. Instead clean the surface once in a while. Soaking with mild dishwasher soap for a few minutes can easily clean the clogging.
If you have access to deionised water, you can avoid clogging by using it instead of normal water. At least use good clean water.