Pressure Cooker vs slow cooker without electricity

[El Pinguino]

We seem to have moved on to recipes so here it is.....Ping’s Bonzer Fair Dinkum Curry

Ingredients:-
A bit of ghee (vegetable oil will do if you have no ghee which you most likely don’t).
An onion
Curry powder
Meat – lamb or beef ( cheap and fatty), goat ( for Curry Malagasy), or chook ( skin on .. but remove head, feet, feathers and entrails… for Curry Mozambique) , allow 200/250 grams per head.
( basic ‘sauce‘ can be used with either veg or fish or even just chuck in some boiled eggs- don’t cook any of these for 25 minutes though…..)
Tin of tomatoes ( diced or whole)
Cupla spuds
A carrot or two
Any other **** stuff that is lying around the galley ( dried mango, a spoon or two of chutney etc or try throwing in a bit of coconut cream or even a chopped up lemon. )

The technical bit:-
Part pressure cook ( about 2 or 3 minutes) the spuds and carrots… put to the side ( this bit is optional …means you can ignore the rice and just serve your curry on bread)
Put oil in cooker… on low heat
Cut onion up nice and fine, add to pan, bring to light golden stage….don’t overcook.
Drop in a couple of tablespoons of curry powder ( refer to tin for guidance), stir and simmer for 5 minutes… mixture should be nice and wet.
Chop meat into bits and throw in bits of meat a few pieces at a time and brown them.
Have a beer.
Chuck in a tin of tomatoes complete with juice. Batten down cooker .. Bring to boil and then low heat until tender.... which for me is about 25 minutes

Take lid off and drop the spuds and carrots into the curry...give them a few minutes to finish cooking......serve.

[ranger58sb]

Do the newer electric pressure cookers have removable inserts for easier washing? Much like most of the slow cooker models?

-Chris

[weavis]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

Do the newer electric pressure cookers have removable inserts for easier washing? Much like most of the slow cooker models?

-Chris

The Instant pot is an entire stainless steel insert... Straight in the sink, a gentle sponge scrub round and its done...

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by weavis

The Instant pot is an entire stainless steel insert... Straight in the sink, a gentle sponge scrub round and its done...

So the lid and pressure valve assembly attach to the insert and not the surround, yes? And electrical bits don't get near the water when washing, right? Good to know, thanks.

-Chris

[weavis]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

So the lid and pressure valve assembly attach to the insert and not the surround, yes? And electrical bits don't get near the water when washing, right? Good to know, thanks.

-Chris

[ranger58sb]

Ah! Excellent pics!! Thanks VERY much!!!

That makes it very easy to understand the locking system...

Cheers, -Chris

[Madwand]

I have the as seen on TV pressure cooker, which is similar. One caution, it is very easy to forget you took the liner pot out and then pour a bunch of liquid into the heating element/electronics. I did that once and 2 cups of dry rice once. And it is IMPOSSIBLE to clean out. You can rinse at it, but you ain't gonna clean it. Mine still has rice falling out occasionally.

[ranger58sb]

Thanks again for the info, Weavis. After a quick review on the 'net, an IP-DUO60 is inbound from my friends at Amazon! Along with the extra glass lid.

Our last pressure cooker -- I think our third, but maybe only second -- simply wore out, and I'd been putting off replacement. Hadn't even thought about electric replacement (didn't realize they existed) until I saw some of the comments here... and the electric version, without traditional long horizontal handles, fixes some issues for us. The only major potential stumbling block with an electric version that I could think of was about that insert thing, and IP solves that.

Once it arrives here at our home and I get a feel for that size, I can decide what size will be best for the boat... assuming I can elegantly cram one into our galley storage somewhere. That could mean moving the 6-qt model to the boat and maybe replacing the home one with an 8-qt, or buying a 5-qt model for that... we'll see.

-Chris

[weavis]

Join Instant Pot® Community on facebook.
recipes up the ying yang and advice for every issue...

[weavis]

I personally see no need to move from the 6 quart size for anyone except caterers. Ive cooked a 6lb whole chicken in it... found I prefer to do smaller pieces, chicken soup, precooked wings for the deep fryer etc etc....ribs and then finished under the broiler.... curries, biryanis, paella, pulled pork, etc..

I do rice and potatoes, both come out great. right oven proof bowls can do the rice with the meal at same time.. only takes 6 mins. Potatoes I do in mesh container above the water for 8-13 mins... can mash or serve whole or put in oven to crisp skins...

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by ranger42c

...an IP-DUO60 is inbound from my friends at Amazon! Along with the extra glass lid.

Other things to think about: A second steel pot, so you can cook two different things one after the other. A plastic lid that seals the steel pot so you can just put it in the fridge as-is. A spare gasket; not sure it's needed, but if it ever is, it would be good to have handy.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by weavis

Join Instant Pot® Community on facebook.
recipes up the ying yang and advice for every issue...

Not an FB kinda person, but that for the suggestion.

Originally Posted by weavis

I personally see no need to move from the 6 quart size for anyone except caterers. Ive cooked a 6lb whole chicken in it...

The PCs we've had in the past have been about 6-qt, so I expected that'd probably be sufficient. The slight smaller one might fit storage (if I can find some) on the boat slightly better, but that might not be a big deal either.

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Other things to think about: A second steel pot, so you can cook two different things one after the other. A plastic lid that seals the steel pot so you can just put it in the fridge as-is. A spare gasket; not sure it's needed, but if it ever is, it would be good to have handy.

Thanks for the suggestions. I did see some snap-on lids, but wasn't sure what they'd be fore. Saw some gaskets (seals), too, but figure I'd wait 'til I see what's what before stocking up.

I'll be interested to see if one of our steamer inserts will just coincidentally fit into the thing... but if not, no biggy, we're not short of steamers.

-Chris

[GrowleyMonster]

I recently discovered electric programmable pressure cookers, and I love them. They don't use nearly as much electricity as you would expect, because the heating element is enclosed within the unit. Of course ANY electricity usage is too much for some folks, but if u have solar, and a big house bank, it is worth a look. I dont have a clampon ammeter so I cant tell you the draw, but it certainly isn't much. It barely gets warm on the outside.

I cook my rice in the pressure cooker. It comes out absolutelytootly perfect. Google for "pot in a pot" method. It can't get burnt and stuck to the inner pan, either. 4 minutes under pressure and white rice is done. Let it cool and reduce pressure normally.

[Madwand]

The problem is, even though it doesn't take much electricity at 110v, it takes lots of electricity to convert 12v to that much 110v. Which is fine, if you've got into spare.

[Alastair A]

Hi All CF. I'm a stove top P'cooker type of guy and I appreciate this "tasty" message chain. Does anyone have their own version of a classic "Salt water bread" recipe? I also use my stove top PC as a "dutch oven". Usually salt water bread is 1/3 seawater and 2/3 fresh. Beyond this, any tasty baking ideas anyone? Cheers.