The thing to be tamed !. Review on Tips while using a Pressure Cooker

Tips like these should have been read, understood and followed(atleast to a certain extent) before a person could venture into the challenging task of  pleasing everyone with their culinary skills. Especially the ones who step into the kitchen, only to have an overview of what's cooked for lunch/dinner.

Although electric rice cooking and microwaving might have reduced the usage of the pressure cooker, it has to be accepted that its an indispensable utensil in the kitchen. Nothing can replace a pressure cooker for preparing some dishes in the simplest way. NOTHING.

The importance of maintaining a cooker, would be felt only when the whistle(which used to annoy u when ur reading, and distract someone attentively watching their favourite programme on TV) doesn't sound to blow with the usual vigour. Much worse, when the cooker stops whistling, and you stare at the queer thing, only to get startled by the enormous pressure released and the whole kitchen is full of steam. To put it in simple terms, when the alloy in the safety valve melts and the full pressure is let out.(That is nothing but the cooker's outburst of suppressed reaction to your poor maintenance:) Having experienced that incident recently, and keeping in line with the tradition of  MS i.e., giving advises(by the most ineligible persons), here are some from me.

Some Don'ts:-

1.Never overload your cooker/pressure pan. The quantity of rice/dhal+ water should be within the permissible level as mentioned in your catalogue.

2.Never fill upto the lid, as this would block the  steam to come out of the vent tube. Better still, to leave an inch space from the top of the pan.

3.Excess water is better than less water in a cooker. Less water could even reduce the shine in your cooker.(and you will be left to soak and scrub with lemon rinds).

*Pressure cooker or Frying Pan?

*Never use it as a frying pan, though some cookery sites misleading suggest such a practice. It would be tempting to use the pan/cooker as a tava, fry vegetables/onions and close the lid to allow it to cook. The durability of the cooker would drastically fall when used as a tava. Its easier to fry vegetables or peas for any variety rice or pulao in a frying pan and then transfer the contents to a vessel in the cooker for further cooking. Cooker's base shouldn't be used instead of a vessel as such.

*Veggies:

*There might be different ideas about this, but, I always feel a cooker shouldn't be used for boiling vegetables, which could be easily cooked in a frying pan. As there's a possibility of vegetables getting overcooked in a cooker. That said, we don't have a better option for cooking hard vegetables like Yam, or large Potatoes.

*Cleaning process:

*Pressure cooker, and its accessories require cleaning like any other utensil(ofcourse) . Though the cooker never misses this routine, the accessories do not figure in our perfunctory cleaning process. The gasket and the cooker weight/stopper requires cleaning too. An easy way of cleaning the weight would be to simply soak it in a small cup of hot water, which would remove all stains and would also ensure that you don't block the pores with your washing up liquid/powder. Dismantling the weight and cleaning it occasionally would guarantee lesser occurence of problems.

*Safety measures:

*We are lucky to have this lid with safety valve these days. I've heard of "ancient" cookers without this facility bursting and causing related hazards. Its always better to close the vessel with contents with a plate, to prevent(in case) the alloy from melting into your food, due to excess pressure. Replacing the gasket every year is a must. Gently twisting the gasket, would help it maintain the flexibility for a longer time. Never try to force open the lid, before the pressure is fully settled. I've seen instances where this was not followed and the full steam left boils in the hands of the person who tried opening the lid. After the ceremonious cleaning is done, the gasket should be removed from the lid when not in use.

*Simplify your cooking:

*While preparing idlis or some other dishes which wouldn't require the stopper, invert a cup over the cooker once you switch off the gas, as this would ensure that the steam is retained within and would reduce usage of gas by atleast a couple of minutes.

Maintaining the "pressure" of a pressure cooker is sure in our hands!