The pressure cooker is a very important kitchen utensil that is commonly found in Indian households. If you have to make a complicated biryani or a simple one-pot khichdi, the pressure cooker comes in handy in every single situation. It not only allows you to cook meals really fast, but it also makes sure that everything is properly cooked.
Using a pressure cooker is very easy, but there are still some hacks that people don't know about that can actually accelerate the speed of cooking. While most of these involve being careful and vigilant while cooking and taking care of your utensils properly, some of these tips are very useful for people who are a little new to cooking. So, we have four very easy tips and tricks for you if you are a regular user of the pressure cooker and you want to make optimum use of the utensil.
Understand The Parts Of Your Pressure Cooker
Most pressure cookers have a lid with a gasket, a valve or pressure regulator, a pressure indicator, and a pot.
Lid with a gasket - This is the top part of the pressure cooker that fits securely onto the pot and creates a tight seal. The gasket is a rubber or silicone ring that sits inside the lid and helps to prevent steam from escaping.
Valve - This is a small component on the lid that regulates the pressure inside the cooker. Most pressure cookers have a simple weighted valve that jiggles to release steam when the pressure gets too high.
Pressure indicator - This is a visual indicator on the lid that shows the pressure level inside the cooker. Most daily use pressure cookers have a simple pop-up indicator that rises when the pressure is high enough, while others have a digital display that shows the exact pressure level.
Pot -This is the main cooking vessel of the pressure cooker. It's usually made of stainless steel or aluminum and has a thick base to distribute heat evenly.
It's important to familiarise yourself with these parts before you start cooking. If a problem occurs in the functioning of your pressure cooker, it is most likely one of these parts that is responsible for it, and to identify the problem, it is important that you know all of them and where they are.
Foaming At The Lid Is Common
If you start fretting when you see foam or froth coming out of the lid while cooking in a pressure cooker, then you need to know that it's not a big deal. It usually happens when there is a little more water than is required. Although it is not a big problem, the way to solve it is to never fill the pressure cooker with water or any liquid more than halfway and to put a spoonful of oil in the dish before closing the lid.
Blocking Of Steam Vent
This is a very common problem when a certain ingredient that we might have put in our dish blocks the steam vents. Super-mushy ingredients like rice or pulses, which we regularly cook in a pressure cooker, might be responsible for this. This problem is a little dangerous, as it can cause the pressure cooker to overheat and explode. The best way to avoid it is to keep cleaning the steam vent regularly. Another hack is to not put the pressure regulator on after closing the lid and only use the steam vent to allow the steam to escape at first. That cleans the vent before putting in the regulator.
Game Of Pressure Regulation
As the name says, cooking in a pressure cooker means understanding the 'why' and 'when' of pressure. If your utensil is not able to generate the right amount of pressure, it probably means that the lid is not closed properly or that the gasket might not have been inserted in the correct way. If you use the pressure cooker regularly, keep changing the gasket every 10 months or so because it might get loose and pressure might not build inside the utensil.