Читать книгу Indian Cooking For Dummies - Monisha Bharadwaj - Страница 54

I don’t know of a single Indian kitchen that doesn’t have at least one pressure cooker. Typically, these are traditional pressure cookers that seal the food in and time the cooking process with a series of whistles. You may find recipes (though not in this book) that ask you to cook a curry for “three or four whistles.” Some modern pressure cookers, such as the Instant Pot, are electric.

Photograph by Wendy Jo Peterson and Geri Goodale

FIGURE 3-3: A tava.

Photograph by Wendy Jo Peterson and Geri Goodale

FIGURE 3-4: A dosa pan.

I love using pressure cookers! They cut down on cooking times and are very fuel efficient. The tight lid has a release vent and helps keep the steam locked in. Pressure cookers cook food using moisture, unlike ovens, which use dry heat. Many Western cooks have told me they’re frightened of pressure cookers blowing up, but honestly, modern ones are much safer than the ones that were used years ago.

You can buy pressure cookers in various sizes. I have about five in my kitchen — small ones for everyday cooking and the largest one for entertaining. I use them to cook meats, lentils, potatoes, and even rice. I’ve seen a large pressure cooker being used to cook three things at once, to make a quick meal — a stack of shallow dishes with a lid on top can contain rice, dal, and vegetables. These are placed in the cooker with some water at the bottom and in each individual dish. The cooked lentils and vegetables can later be spiced up in a separate pot.

Whichever pressure cooker you buy, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, because they vary.

An Instant Pot is more than a pressure cooker. You can use it to build curries by adding various building blocks to the pot and then cooking everything together. Some ingredients that are popular in the Indian kitchen (such as beans, lentils, and meats) can take a long time to cook, but the Instant Pot, which is a combination of a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, can take the pressure off and cook them to perfection without your needing to stand by stirring the pot. Put your ingredients into the pot in the correct sequence, adjust the settings, and walk away to finish other chores. You’ll have a fuss-free dinner waiting for you when you return.

Because the Instant Pot has temperature settings you can adjust, they’re also great for fermenting foods. Getting your dosa batter to go all bubbly is easy in an Instant Pot, as is making soft, set yogurt.