Hi FOlks - I am working on a feature story about pressure cookers. Do you have stories you can share? Love it? Hate it? I would love to hear from you! Please PM or email me.

*Posted with permission from DR

Yeah Monica, well, only us desis love pressure cookers more than anyone else on earth. There is no other way to make daal! Just moved into an apartment a few weeks ago and my FIRST big purchase for the kitchen-- a Futura!

My last (hazy) pressure-cooker recollection involved a college physics lab, a prior experiment involving grapes found growing behind a rental house, and at least one West Virginian.

So, you can make dal with those things too?

I've never tried making dal with a pressure cooker (because I usually cook masur dal, which cooks pretty quickly). What kinds of dal would you recommend work best in a pressure cooker?

My parents insisted that we always eat a home cooked meal together virtually every day. We rarely ate out or ordered in food. Both mom and dad worked and they would cook as soon as they got home, instead of relaxing. I never realized until just now how important it was to them that we all sat together for this one meal. Using a pressure cooker was essential in getting some of the dishes to the table in reasonable time.

My dad would always make his kasha mangsho (lamb curry) in a pressure cooker. Mom would occassionally use it as well for doing large batches of chicken curry (I think she called it murghi pathla jhol???). I've started using the pressure cooker for these dishes, as well as for making western style chilis and stews. Absolutely indispensable.

[I found and revived this thread, rather than start a new one]
I got a digital pressure cooker for Christmas, after hearing Bobby Flay comment that he had learned to use one on ICA and now finds it extremely useful. I opted for digital, because with my attention span issues, I'd walk away from a stovetop model at the wrong moment.

It took me a little while to figure out how to cook some of my favorites, but I've made short ribs, beef pot roasts, and pork braises. The butter chicken recipe I found in a PC cookbook was out of this world!

This morning I tried cooking rice (brown Basmati), and it didn't turn out quite as I expected, but still usable for my purpose (a little too much water, not long enough pressure time at first, too much oil).

What has worked for you in your pressure cooker (and what went bust)?

I love my pressure cooker, and I use it mainly for risotto and to cook dried beans on a whim. Boiled peanuts also get soft and saltilicious in one third of the regular time. I've found it does wonders if you want to cheat on foods that you usually have to simmer to get all the flavors to meld. Sometimes you need the meld, but have no time for the simmer. A general rule is to cut the cooking time to 1/3 and check the contents at that point.

Lorna Sass has some great cookbooks that give times and water ratios for all sorts of beans and grains. That might help with the rice. Happy pressuring!

-Linda