A lot of us find the concept of using a pressure cooker a bit daunting. We've heard about how it can shorten the cooking process and how it helps to tenderise the meat, but for those who have never used one, one always has that worry at the back of their heads whether they will do the wrong thing and blow up the whole kitchen!
My mom being a working mum, started using a pressure cooker very early in life. She perfected each and every timing to the tee. Watching her, I've also mastered the art of using one, and today will share my tips and tricks on how to get the best from your pressure cooker.
The first thing you need to do is go and buy a pressure cooker. There are so many companies making them today, its hard to choose. And now they've come out with fancy versions like the non stick variety, extra safety gadgets etc..
There are 2 main companies, at least in India, that specialise in pressure cookers. One is Hawkins and the other is Prestige. If you've grown up with one, you won't touch the other. It's almost like the Nikon vs Canon debate in cameras. Once you are comfortable using one brand, it's hard to move to another.
So of the two which do you choose, and more importantly, which do I use? Well, I'm a Hawkins girl. The main plus point Hawkins has going for itself, is the lid sits in a lock like position from the inside, where as Prestige has it's lid sitting on top. Now, reviewing it from a safety angle, I'd say Hawkins seems more safer as the lid can't ever pop out and blow in your face. I know Prestige has come back with extra safety valves now on their pressure cookers, but like I said earlier, I'm a Hawkins girl, and I see no faults from the beginning in their cookers.
My pressure cookers are now 5 to 10 years old. I love the aluminium ones. You can get them in all sizes to suit your cooking requirements. I cannot remember right now, whether there was any curing instructions to start off with your new cooker. So check the manual for that. What I'm giving you are tips to keep in mind when using one.
1. Always make sure the quantity of water used is never more than 3/4 of the height of the cooker. The whistle will otherwise keep letting off jets of water to combat this.
2. Once the lid is on, put the heat on its maximum setting, till the whistle blows off, then lower to the second lowest(for electric) or lowest setting(if using gas) and time. Please do not go by the number of whistles. Firstly, a good pressure cooker, once you lower the heat, should not whistle again. Counting by the number of whistles (which I'm not sure how that can happen unless you keep the heat high the whole time) can cause you to forget and then mess up the whole dish. Full heat - then lower and time!
3. Never put in a completely dry dish into the pressure cooker. There should be some moisture in the dish or else add 1/2 cup to a cup of water, depending on how long you want to cook the dish.
4. Recipes that have meat and potatoes for eg., Cook the meat in the gravy first, then once almost cooked, open and add the potatoes and cook again. The reason being that meat would take a lot longer to cook than potatoes, so if you add both in the beginning, your potatoes are going to turn out like mash.
5. When washing your pressure cooker after use, if you would like it to have a nice shine, once in a while, give it a scrub with some steel wool. You needn't do this step everytime. But, please remember to remove the whistle when washing so that the vent gets cleaned. When reusing the pressure cooker, once dry, blow into the whistle to make sure again that the vent is clear, before putting on the whistle.
6. Rice is another easy dish to prepare using the pressure cooker. The trick for using white rice, is to remove the whistle completely.
For eg, if you are making a pulao, fry your whole spices, add your onions, tomatoes, veggies and your rice. Add the required quantity of water. Usually double the amount and a half glass more. Then cover (remember no whistle!) Put the heat on high as usual. After about 5 mins or so,you will see steam coming out from the vent. Wait for the steam to come out in an even line then lower and time for 10 mins. Open immediately after 10 mins and fluff your rice.
7. How do you open the pressure cooker. Well there are 3 ways to do this. Once is to completely let the dish cool, the steam dissipate and the lid should open easily (not good however if you want a dish precisely timed as this could overcook the dish), Two, is you run the sides of the dish under a running tap to cool down the steam and Third and my preferred way is to take a fork and slowly lift off the whistle resting the fork on the cooker, so it can slowly let go of the steam. Then open!
My mom being a working mum, started using a pressure cooker very early in life. She perfected each and every timing to the tee. Watching her, I've also mastered the art of using one, and today will share my tips and tricks on how to get the best from your pressure cooker.
The first thing you need to do is go and buy a pressure cooker. There are so many companies making them today, its hard to choose. And now they've come out with fancy versions like the non stick variety, extra safety gadgets etc..
There are 2 main companies, at least in India, that specialise in pressure cookers. One is Hawkins and the other is Prestige. If you've grown up with one, you won't touch the other. It's almost like the Nikon vs Canon debate in cameras. Once you are comfortable using one brand, it's hard to move to another.
So of the two which do you choose, and more importantly, which do I use? Well, I'm a Hawkins girl. The main plus point Hawkins has going for itself, is the lid sits in a lock like position from the inside, where as Prestige has it's lid sitting on top. Now, reviewing it from a safety angle, I'd say Hawkins seems more safer as the lid can't ever pop out and blow in your face. I know Prestige has come back with extra safety valves now on their pressure cookers, but like I said earlier, I'm a Hawkins girl, and I see no faults from the beginning in their cookers.
My pressure cookers are now 5 to 10 years old. I love the aluminium ones. You can get them in all sizes to suit your cooking requirements. I cannot remember right now, whether there was any curing instructions to start off with your new cooker. So check the manual for that. What I'm giving you are tips to keep in mind when using one.
1. Always make sure the quantity of water used is never more than 3/4 of the height of the cooker. The whistle will otherwise keep letting off jets of water to combat this.
2. Once the lid is on, put the heat on its maximum setting, till the whistle blows off, then lower to the second lowest(for electric) or lowest setting(if using gas) and time. Please do not go by the number of whistles. Firstly, a good pressure cooker, once you lower the heat, should not whistle again. Counting by the number of whistles (which I'm not sure how that can happen unless you keep the heat high the whole time) can cause you to forget and then mess up the whole dish. Full heat - then lower and time!
3. Never put in a completely dry dish into the pressure cooker. There should be some moisture in the dish or else add 1/2 cup to a cup of water, depending on how long you want to cook the dish.
4. Recipes that have meat and potatoes for eg., Cook the meat in the gravy first, then once almost cooked, open and add the potatoes and cook again. The reason being that meat would take a lot longer to cook than potatoes, so if you add both in the beginning, your potatoes are going to turn out like mash.
5. When washing your pressure cooker after use, if you would like it to have a nice shine, once in a while, give it a scrub with some steel wool. You needn't do this step everytime. But, please remember to remove the whistle when washing so that the vent gets cleaned. When reusing the pressure cooker, once dry, blow into the whistle to make sure again that the vent is clear, before putting on the whistle.
6. Rice is another easy dish to prepare using the pressure cooker. The trick for using white rice, is to remove the whistle completely.
For eg, if you are making a pulao, fry your whole spices, add your onions, tomatoes, veggies and your rice. Add the required quantity of water. Usually double the amount and a half glass more. Then cover (remember no whistle!) Put the heat on high as usual. After about 5 mins or so,you will see steam coming out from the vent. Wait for the steam to come out in an even line then lower and time for 10 mins. Open immediately after 10 mins and fluff your rice.
7. How do you open the pressure cooker. Well there are 3 ways to do this. Once is to completely let the dish cool, the steam dissipate and the lid should open easily (not good however if you want a dish precisely timed as this could overcook the dish), Two, is you run the sides of the dish under a running tap to cool down the steam and Third and my preferred way is to take a fork and slowly lift off the whistle resting the fork on the cooker, so it can slowly let go of the steam. Then open!
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