Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2010 7:14 am
Originally written as part of this topic, I realised that this is actually a topic in its own right.
Practically every Indian household has a "few" pressure cookers they own . This "Kuhn-Rikon" types are definitely new (Referred to as second-generation cookers, for good reason) for me. The most common types one will get to see are the 'jiggle' type hissing ones that makes one go "Thar she blows" !
Most common types over here in India (I was surprised to see them on Amazon too) are these two "cooker families: Prestige and Hawkins.. Prestige is now a noun used here for that type of cooker. There are some other companies too such as Butterfly and Pigeon and so on, but those two words are ubiqutuous to refer to pressure cookers.
1. Prestige Cooker
This is a classic variety that you will read about here.... In fact the pictures you see towards the end (safety valve, gasket release..) were scanned from one of the Prestige manuals.. Coz, I have a manual with me
2. Hawkins Pressure Cooker
This category is a "lidded lock-and-seal" variety, where the it is only possible to slot the lid by placing the lid's handle 90-degrees away from the pan and then sliding it over the top of the pan's handle. Lock-and-load.. or some such term comes to mind
Of couse, there's a lot of material on the Net about the differences in cooking b/w this classic ones and the new generation cookers, so I won't bother here.
These two cookers mentioned above also go on forever like the Kuhn-Rikons and is typically given as marriage gifts, family heirlooms, etc. They are also offered "free" along with different kitchen appliances purchases, gas stoves purchases, etc. I use some of my mothers' which is from the early 70s! The only maintenance costs: rubber gasket changes every 5-6 years (costs less than Rs.100 here), and the safety valve (~Rs.20) melts iff you add too little water and forget to switch it off.
There's also "Milk cookers" for boiling milk(*) that are quite common here.... And yes they whistle a lot too .
(*) and to prevent them from spilling over as typically happens with the milkpan
As a personal preference, DW and I prefer the whistles while cooking, because it serves as a reminder for us while we are pottering about the house doing other things: starting-to-be-done (whistle 1, then reduce heat on stove), semi-done (whistle 3, typically 5-10 mins later), well-done (whistle 5)
As regards recipes for beans pretty much anything and everything is cooked in these cookers in India... and they really take a very short time too!
Note: So I am going to include some other dishes that one can cook with pressure cookers from here:
For example, cooking a course of Rice, Sambhar, Koottu/Avial, Sundal is managed in a single cooker cycle (less than an hour typically), because of the usage of cooker size fitting "tiffin carriers" (the steel one, not the plastic outer casing on the left) that are typically sold along with the cookers (YaY!) but can also be purchased separately in shops in various sizes (YaY!).
Typical households have pre-prepared spice mixes ready on hand, and this makes cooking and seasoning even faster (Search for Sambhar/Rasam powders and zone in on the one that makes most sense to you ;-])
These cookers are typically multi-purpose, as Idlis(**) are also steamed in these cookers, by leaving the thing to hiss (without the dead-weight/whistle on top) for around 10 mins... Healthy, steamed, cooked and tasty beakfast is ready... So this also contributes to a minimalist Kitchen, without necessarily being called that way here in India, It is just the way my mother and hers did it, so to speak ...
(**) Notice, that wikipedia shows the picture of a "dedicated" Idli cooker, which is itself a bastardised version of a milk cooker, while the caption talks about "Pressure cooker". Ho Ho
Here's some "Indian" bean recipes for thought. Other than the multiple legume "sundals" that I mentioned above, there's "Chole" and there's "Rajma" which bring their own spin to the proceedings, so give it a try before categorising it as a "Moroccan" or a "Tex-Mex" variants. Also, the famous dhal that people order in restaurants is easy to make at home....
Also, to add to Jacob's idea of buying in bulk, you can buy full groundnuts (with the skins, I mean) for real cheap and make yourself healthy snacks in short notice... Just takes 10 minutes more than microwave popcorn but sooo much more healthy and equally tasty....
Most of the dishes that happen in our household is Lacto-Vegan (I despise that term, but everyone seems to understands that!) with one extra condition... no onions or garlic in the cuisine either. Some examples can be found here and here, for instance.
Side Note:
Don't be put off the religion aspect in some of the sites provided. In the UK, the ISKCON were known as the "Kitchen Religion" ... Such was the draw of their cuisine! Oh, and I am well aware of the "health" benefits of onion/garlic, but I simply get those health benefits from and other vegetables and through other activities. And, I have eaten onion/garlic recipes in other circumstances and when I return to my recipes, I find that lack of them really does not take away anything from the dishes themselves (just IMHO). Your mileage will vary, and I respect that)...
Please feel free to stick to what y'all comfortable with. I am just providing some alternatives and suggestions here to the possibilities that you open up when you are cooking in pressure cookers(!).
(!) and not just the beans
I commonly used to (and continue to) hear that a) there's no way veggies can be cooked without meat, b) only salads can be made with veggies, c) absolutely no nutrition/ no balance d) I don't know how to cook vegetables on their own and make them tasty... e) WHAT!! You use a pressure cooker, those things are sooooo dangerous and lethal! (If I put a rupee aside everytime someone said that, I would have a 4-month emergency fund, seriously!)
Hope you can find those concerns addressed here (barring point (e))
That's all folks! Please shoot a reply if I wasn't clear on certain topics, or if you wanted more discussions.
Best,
Surio.
---
Practically every Indian household has a "few" pressure cookers they own . This "Kuhn-Rikon" types are definitely new (Referred to as second-generation cookers, for good reason) for me. The most common types one will get to see are the 'jiggle' type hissing ones that makes one go "Thar she blows" !
Most common types over here in India (I was surprised to see them on Amazon too) are these two "cooker families: Prestige and Hawkins.. Prestige is now a noun used here for that type of cooker. There are some other companies too such as Butterfly and Pigeon and so on, but those two words are ubiqutuous to refer to pressure cookers.
1. Prestige Cooker
This is a classic variety that you will read about here.... In fact the pictures you see towards the end (safety valve, gasket release..) were scanned from one of the Prestige manuals.. Coz, I have a manual with me
2. Hawkins Pressure Cooker
This category is a "lidded lock-and-seal" variety, where the it is only possible to slot the lid by placing the lid's handle 90-degrees away from the pan and then sliding it over the top of the pan's handle. Lock-and-load.. or some such term comes to mind
Of couse, there's a lot of material on the Net about the differences in cooking b/w this classic ones and the new generation cookers, so I won't bother here.
These two cookers mentioned above also go on forever like the Kuhn-Rikons and is typically given as marriage gifts, family heirlooms, etc. They are also offered "free" along with different kitchen appliances purchases, gas stoves purchases, etc. I use some of my mothers' which is from the early 70s! The only maintenance costs: rubber gasket changes every 5-6 years (costs less than Rs.100 here), and the safety valve (~Rs.20) melts iff you add too little water and forget to switch it off.
There's also "Milk cookers" for boiling milk(*) that are quite common here.... And yes they whistle a lot too .
(*) and to prevent them from spilling over as typically happens with the milkpan
As a personal preference, DW and I prefer the whistles while cooking, because it serves as a reminder for us while we are pottering about the house doing other things: starting-to-be-done (whistle 1, then reduce heat on stove), semi-done (whistle 3, typically 5-10 mins later), well-done (whistle 5)
As regards recipes for beans pretty much anything and everything is cooked in these cookers in India... and they really take a very short time too!
Note: So I am going to include some other dishes that one can cook with pressure cookers from here:
For example, cooking a course of Rice, Sambhar, Koottu/Avial, Sundal is managed in a single cooker cycle (less than an hour typically), because of the usage of cooker size fitting "tiffin carriers" (the steel one, not the plastic outer casing on the left) that are typically sold along with the cookers (YaY!) but can also be purchased separately in shops in various sizes (YaY!).
Typical households have pre-prepared spice mixes ready on hand, and this makes cooking and seasoning even faster (Search for Sambhar/Rasam powders and zone in on the one that makes most sense to you ;-])
These cookers are typically multi-purpose, as Idlis(**) are also steamed in these cookers, by leaving the thing to hiss (without the dead-weight/whistle on top) for around 10 mins... Healthy, steamed, cooked and tasty beakfast is ready... So this also contributes to a minimalist Kitchen, without necessarily being called that way here in India, It is just the way my mother and hers did it, so to speak ...
(**) Notice, that wikipedia shows the picture of a "dedicated" Idli cooker, which is itself a bastardised version of a milk cooker, while the caption talks about "Pressure cooker". Ho Ho
Here's some "Indian" bean recipes for thought. Other than the multiple legume "sundals" that I mentioned above, there's "Chole" and there's "Rajma" which bring their own spin to the proceedings, so give it a try before categorising it as a "Moroccan" or a "Tex-Mex" variants. Also, the famous dhal that people order in restaurants is easy to make at home....
Also, to add to Jacob's idea of buying in bulk, you can buy full groundnuts (with the skins, I mean) for real cheap and make yourself healthy snacks in short notice... Just takes 10 minutes more than microwave popcorn but sooo much more healthy and equally tasty....
Most of the dishes that happen in our household is Lacto-Vegan (I despise that term, but everyone seems to understands that!) with one extra condition... no onions or garlic in the cuisine either. Some examples can be found here and here, for instance.
Side Note:
Don't be put off the religion aspect in some of the sites provided. In the UK, the ISKCON were known as the "Kitchen Religion" ... Such was the draw of their cuisine! Oh, and I am well aware of the "health" benefits of onion/garlic, but I simply get those health benefits from and other vegetables and through other activities. And, I have eaten onion/garlic recipes in other circumstances and when I return to my recipes, I find that lack of them really does not take away anything from the dishes themselves (just IMHO). Your mileage will vary, and I respect that)...
Please feel free to stick to what y'all comfortable with. I am just providing some alternatives and suggestions here to the possibilities that you open up when you are cooking in pressure cookers(!).
(!) and not just the beans
I commonly used to (and continue to) hear that a) there's no way veggies can be cooked without meat, b) only salads can be made with veggies, c) absolutely no nutrition/ no balance d) I don't know how to cook vegetables on their own and make them tasty... e) WHAT!! You use a pressure cooker, those things are sooooo dangerous and lethal! (If I put a rupee aside everytime someone said that, I would have a 4-month emergency fund, seriously!)
Hope you can find those concerns addressed here (barring point (e))
That's all folks! Please shoot a reply if I wasn't clear on certain topics, or if you wanted more discussions.
Best,
Surio.
---