Without much ado, this time, I choose to write on something that sits in my kitchen shelf - stout and sturdy, and is something that demands least attention from me. One of those things, I thought my mom was born with and never really looked at it twice as an important invention. Only later, when I grew up and had to make some rice in my Guide Camp, on a camp fire(on logs) in an open pan that I realized how uncool it must have been without this super invention. That’s the time I took a second look at this big utensil(Yes, that time we used the 5 ltr one for cooking almost everything).
In the present generation, most of those coming from middle class homes have grown up seeing(and hearing and bearing with.) Pressure Cookers. Moms making variety of mundane stuff in them but a single malfunction from this heavy duty utensil can make everyone scream their lungs out.
Most of us already know the way Pressure Cooker works, so I won’t explain that here. I intend to share some useful tips while cooking in a Pressure Cooker.
Handling and Care - This marvel of an invention though sturdy in it’s appearance has a vulnerable side to it, like all sturdy things. It’s Rubber Gasket. This is one thing that should be cleaned up frequently with mild soapy water and should be handled gently.
I’ll share some personal exp here. I had seen my mom moving the gasket freely between her hands and using foam to clean it up, so, once to surprise her, I thought of doing the same in her absence. I tried applying pressure to clean it up nicely and stretched it little and BANG - it came in 2 pieces in my hands:) Rest is History.
The base of pressure cooker takes a good amount of beating, with house maids being most ruthless to Cooker, Kadai and Tava, in that order. If the base of your Pressure Cooker starts to bulge out, chances are, it won’t work perfectly then onwards. Try getting it rectified from an authorized agency.
Soak me - Always soak the material before cooking. That helps save power(Gas or electricity) and Cooker has to do less work for a lesser period of time. Soaking time will depend upon hardness of what you intend to cook. So, Rajma or Channa would take a night to soak while rice/pulses would require only an hour before cooking is intended to start.
You can whistle a 100 miles. This one is really important and most ignored fact till date. Once the full pressure has been made and you’ve heard the first full blown whistle, simmer the gas and give the time as mentioned in the booklet. Lots of folks I know, count the number of whistles to know if it’s cooked. That’s NOT the way it is supposed to work. Once full steam is made, cooker do it’s work inside, no matter how many whistles. Whistles are just a way to let the excess steam off it’s lungs.
So, let the heat simmer, and cooker cook it for you, without having to scream many times.
Here’s a quick reference off the top of my head
- Minutes to keep on simmer after the first whistle (If you’ve pre soaked, else add 2-4 mins more accordingly)
Rice - 1 min.
Pulses - 5 mins
Channa - 13-15 mins
Rajmah - 13-15 mins
Steaming Mangoes/Raw Tomatoes - 3 mins
Boiling Potatoes(Soaking not needed:) - 4 mins for medium sized ones.
Art of separating out - Bigger Cookers(5 ltrs onwards) can accommodate separators in them. That’s a very useful way of preparing 2 things in one go. Remember to keep sensitive item in top separator. So, you could be steaming up mangoes for Aam Panna in the lower separator while cooking rice in the upper one.
The catch here is that, both items should have identical cooking time. So, you can steam up pulses and cook rice together but you can’t club rajmah and rice. Rice obviously requires 1/15th of time of rajma. So, use the art of separating out sensibly and you’ll save up considerably on time and power.
Double entendre - Some really gifted ladies I know of, can make cakes and puddings in Cooker. I don’t know the exact recipes for them, but these days some of the cook and serve kind of cake mixes (like the ones from Pillsbury) can be made in Pressure Cooker and it comes out well. I never tried it myself, but my sister has the credit for trying it and licking her fingers over phone while narrating it to us.
Hope you’ve found something useful. Add more useful tips in the comments section.