An Ode To The Pressure Cooker (And Pressure Cooker Recipes That Save Time!)

A pressure cooker eases off the pressure, while cooking a nutritious meal. Here are some delicious pressure cooker recipes that can be prepared by this most handy device.

A pressure cooker eases off the pressure, while cooking a nutritious meal. Here are some delicious pressure cooker recipes that can be prepared by this most handy device.

As per Wikipedia, pressure cookers can be said to have been brought into existence, by Denis Papin, a French physicist in 1679. He made a steam digester which cooked food faster. This was followed by Georg Gutbrod of Stuttgart, Germany who made pressure cookers of tinned cast iron.

In 1918, a patent was given in Spain to Jose Alix Martinez for making an ‘express cooking pot’. By 1924, Jose had published the first pressure cooking recipe book, listing 360 recipes. And then there was no looking back.

Pressure cooker is primarily used for cooking rice and dal in Indian households. However, homemakers nowadays use pressure cooking for many dishes like cakes, dhoklas, flavoured rices, one pot cooking etc. The advantages of pressure cooking are that it is time saving. A majority of the nutrients in food are preserved. And it requires lesser cleaning! It saves fuel as well as food cooks at a faster rate.

Pressure cookers can be used to produce a variety of dishes namely cakes, Dhoklas, Pulaos, Biryanis, mixed lentils, Chhole, Rajma, sweets like Rasgullas, Gajar ka halwa and even sabzis like Aloo matar, Vegetable Kurma, etc. So,  a whole range of dishes can be prepared, in a matter of minutes ! And it is economical too !

Listed below are a variety of dishes which can be made in this handy kitchen device.

Flavoured rice

A simple Pulao or Biryani are delectable rice recipes, that can be pressure cooked to perfection in a pressure cooker!

Simple mung dal and rice khichdi, can be cooked too. And isn’t this comfort food made in minutes?

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Even Bisi Bele Bhaath,the one pot dish from Karnataka, can be prepared in minutes in a pressure cooker.

Snacks

Idlis and even Dhoklas can be made in pressure cooker. Patras, Kothimbir Vadis  and Muthias can be steamed in a cooker and then shallow fried to get healthier versions of these delicious snacks.

Even Momos can be cooked  in a pressure cooker. And that brings us to Modak, the mouth watering sweet from Maharashtra and the favourite sweet of Lord Ganesha. Modaks too, can be  steamed in a pressure cooker. Sabzis like Aloo matar and Undhiyon, an exotic Gujarati dish can be prepared too.

This Vegetable Kurma recipe was shown in an advertisement, for a branded pressure cooker some time back. Sangeeta Khanna, an avid food blogger has this one pot quick lentil recipe made from whole Masoor. I have made this many times and believe me, it is delicious ! Then we have mixed sprouts, that can be pressure cooked to enjoy a nutritious meal !

The tasty Sindhi Kadhi can be cooked to perfection in a pressure cooker. Sindhi rasoi shows the way ! Chhole can be ready in a jiffy thanks to it being made the pressure cookerway !

Sweets

Rasgullas get made so fast in a pressure cooker, that you will be amazed ! Rasgullas are one of the healthiest Indian sweets that has very little sugar and is protein rich ! Excellent for vegetarians !

Gajar Halwa can also be prepared very easily. Not to mention, that this pressure cooker recipe saves time !

Cake can be baked  in a pressure cooker as well. A branded cake mix is advertised as a cooker cake ! Just goes to show the versatility of the pressure cooker.

I can go on and on about dishes that can be made faster in a pressure cooker. I am sure, you must have tried many dishes apart from what I have stated above. And, you must have been certainly surprised, at the way dishes turn out excellent in the pressure cooker. Do share your favourite pressure cooker recipes.

A few precautions while using the pressure cooker. Please do not overload the pressure cooker with too much of ingredients. Always clean the pressure cooker thoroughly. Keep the gasket in good condition. Always make sure that there is sufficient water in the cooker before pressure cooking. Be careful with foods that froth, as steam valves of the cooker may get blocked by froth. Following these simple safety tips will make pressure cooking a pleasurable  experience !

Nowadays, the microwave oven, slow cooker, electric cooker, air fryer are getting a lot of attention. Yet, none of them can match the pressure cooker in terms of convenience and cost !

My pressure cooker occupies a ‘place of pride’ in my kitchen for reasons stated above. In fact, I have two pressure cookers of different sizes. One, a large one for rice and dal cooking. Another, a small one for one pot cooking of Khichdi, Chhole etc. And both the pressure cookers had a pressure pan thrown in, for free, when I bought them !

This makes it all the more economical like saving fuel, time and money. And the nutrition remains intact! What more can anyone possibly ask for ?

Image Source: Youtube

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vasrao

I am a law graduate from Government Law College,Mumbai.I am a Fellow in General Insurance ( technical qualification for insurance ) .I am a homemaker at present, having worked for nearly 16 years in General read more...

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