This Thanksgiving, I gifted myself ( yes, that is a thing) an Electric Pressure Cooker (EPC).
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Everyone, and I mean everyone has been raving about the InstantPot. I was tempted. People seem to be cooking everything in this one gizmo.
After a lot of deliberation and delay and comparison I decided, I'm getting me one of these.
A bit of research and I zeroed in on this model. When I got it it was on sale for about $55, a lot cheaper than the IP with the same functionality. Win-Win.
I snagged it and started cooking, just the basic stuff.
Rice and daal.
Beans.
Soup.
Potatoes.
Rasam and Sambar.
Making vegetables ( it has a 'Sear' function)
I liked it, I would put the daal in the main pot, stack rice on the trivet and lay a plate with peeled and chopped potatoes (with a couple of tbsp water drizzled on top) set it and forget it.
I cooked beans to perfection. This was always a task for me. I used my regular Prestige cooker but almost always forgot to count the whistles and the beans would be underdone or mush. What a hassle! But it was so easy with the EPC, I had only to adjust the quantity to 'less' and set it on the beans mode and forget it. Perfectly cooked beans!
Then I made yogurt in it. Easy, but not necessary, in the Florida warmth and humidity.
My next experiment will be getting the dosa batter to ferment in this. And I can see the advantage of using the EPC to ferment the batter. You see, we have moved again.
After a back breaking packing marathon and forgetting where I packed what (by then I was too darn tired to even care, I just know I took good care in packing my kitchen appliances), I bundled what ever remained in 4 suitcases, forced them shut and the husband and I heaved them into the rental car and drove to the airport. The heaviest suitcase contained my EPC, a small frying pan and my rolling pin. That is all I traveled with. Time to put the EPC to use.
The movers will bring the stuff in about 2 weeks, so I will have to make do with the 'make it all' gizmo and see if it is worth the hype and money I put into it.
The thing about travel (in my case, move) is, it lets you relax and unwind and most importantly, takes you away from the routine that you get sucked into.
My son and I love staying in a hotel. He likes it because it is a novelty to him. I like it because of the housekeeping cleaning up and making everything spic n span for me!
Advantage, free hot breakfast.
Disadvantage, no tea. I love me my chaha/ chai. Even a laid out breakfast cannot compete with a hot cup of ginger spiked tea.
Time to start testing the versatility of the EPC.
So day 1, I made tea in this with fat free milk. It was delicious!
Nailed it! Moment.
Day 2, half milk and half water. Delicious, again!
For my friends, who have purchased the EPC ( around the same time as I have and are experimenting with it), this is for you all.
In the main pot of the EPC, pour 2 cups of water and place the trivet in it.
In a small pot (image below) pour the usual combination of milk and water that you normally use.
Wash a small knob of ginger.
Add sliced / crushed ginger to the water+milk combo.
Add sugar and tea powder. (1:1:1 )
Place the pot on the trivet and close the EPC. Make sure the 'whistle' is set to 'Seal' (and NOT 'vent').
Press 'Manual' and adjust the timing to 1 minute ( press the '-'button to adjust).
Press 'Start'.
Go do what you were doing, take a shower, get ready. Tea will be ready by then.
Once the pressure goes down, open the EPC, strain the tea and enjoy.
Things to remember:
The EPC takes time to build pressure.
You will see the lines go round on the panel, that is normal.
Once the cooking time is done, the EPC will switch to 'Keep Warm ' mode.
Let the pressure go down normally (also called NPR).
I snagged it and started cooking, just the basic stuff.
Rice and daal.
Beans.
Soup.
Potatoes.
Rasam and Sambar.
Making vegetables ( it has a 'Sear' function)
I liked it, I would put the daal in the main pot, stack rice on the trivet and lay a plate with peeled and chopped potatoes (with a couple of tbsp water drizzled on top) set it and forget it.
I cooked beans to perfection. This was always a task for me. I used my regular Prestige cooker but almost always forgot to count the whistles and the beans would be underdone or mush. What a hassle! But it was so easy with the EPC, I had only to adjust the quantity to 'less' and set it on the beans mode and forget it. Perfectly cooked beans!
Then I made yogurt in it. Easy, but not necessary, in the Florida warmth and humidity.
My next experiment will be getting the dosa batter to ferment in this. And I can see the advantage of using the EPC to ferment the batter. You see, we have moved again.
 |
| Source: Google search |
The movers will bring the stuff in about 2 weeks, so I will have to make do with the 'make it all' gizmo and see if it is worth the hype and money I put into it.
The thing about travel (in my case, move) is, it lets you relax and unwind and most importantly, takes you away from the routine that you get sucked into.
 |
| Can you guess where I am? |
Advantage, free hot breakfast.
Disadvantage, no tea. I love me my chaha/ chai. Even a laid out breakfast cannot compete with a hot cup of ginger spiked tea.
Time to start testing the versatility of the EPC.
So day 1, I made tea in this with fat free milk. It was delicious!
Nailed it! Moment.
Day 2, half milk and half water. Delicious, again!
For my friends, who have purchased the EPC ( around the same time as I have and are experimenting with it), this is for you all.
In the main pot of the EPC, pour 2 cups of water and place the trivet in it.
In a small pot (image below) pour the usual combination of milk and water that you normally use.
 |
| Source: Google search |
Wash a small knob of ginger.
Add sliced / crushed ginger to the water+milk combo.
Add sugar and tea powder. (1:1:1 )
Place the pot on the trivet and close the EPC. Make sure the 'whistle' is set to 'Seal' (and NOT 'vent').
Press 'Manual' and adjust the timing to 1 minute ( press the '-'button to adjust).
Press 'Start'.
Go do what you were doing, take a shower, get ready. Tea will be ready by then.
Once the pressure goes down, open the EPC, strain the tea and enjoy.
Things to remember:
The EPC takes time to build pressure.
You will see the lines go round on the panel, that is normal.
Once the cooking time is done, the EPC will switch to 'Keep Warm ' mode.
Let the pressure go down normally (also called NPR).
3 comments:
Gosh- look at those mountains! Where have you moved to - Colorado? Good luck with this next phase of your life!!
I've heard so much about these instant pot type devices- glad you are using yours in inventive ways. Chai makes everything better :)
Hi Nupur, We are in Utah. It's so beautiful.
The EPC is very versatile and I'm looking forward to using it in different ways. I guess, for the next few weeks, this is the only thing I will have ( apart from my rolling pin to make fulkas) to make a proper meal.
Good luck, Manasi. Hope your kitchen's up and running!
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