This is based loosely on my mother-in-law’s jeera aloo recipe, which appears in my first pressure cooker book, although Shariq (husband) says it is more aloo tharkari.
I may well be being completely ridiculous here and missing the obvious, but on an instantpot do you mean to change the pressure to 'keep warm' when it has got up to pressure. Loving my pot but doing a lot of guessing as I go! This looks amazing, so thank you.
No, you aren't being ridiculous, but that's not quite how it works. You don't have to do anything once the IP is up to pressure, it switches over automatically. It will also stop cooking at pressure automatically and release pressure in the way you have set. You have the option to set it to switch to keep warm after all the pressure has been released, but this won't kick in until this point. Does that make sense? It is just a question of terminology. With a stove top you have to actively reduce the heat, it isn't done automatically - I mention it in my recipes to remind stove top users they have to do it!
The inevitable happened - I burned the potatoes to the bottom of the pan during the second pressurisation. The base was beautifully clean after the first pressurisation, as per your instructions. I wondered whether the potatoes simply absorbed too much of the tamarind water. Or whether my PC, the basic ProCook 22cm/6 litre model requires a bit more water. Finally the cooker instructions say that it's at pressure when the safety valve pops up and the pressure valve emits a "steady flow" of steam. Is that "steady flow" wispy or vigorous? I kept it on high heat until there was a vigorous flow from the pressure valve. Finally, despite the mild stress occasioned, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Thank you! I'd love to get it right next time.
What a shame! I think perhaps I need to give more instruction on the liquid - if once you have stirred it in it seems a bit thick, best to thin it out a little. You need it to come back up to pressure quickly, did you return it to a high heat?
Re the cooker instructions, it should just be a wisp at the very most. To double check, I just cooked the rice from my latest recipe (ribs) in my Pro Cook. It gave out quite a lot of steam before it came up to high pressure, but as soon as it comes up to pressure the vapour virtually disappeared - there was no more than a wisp. So it is possible that if you have left it on a high heat until it gives out a lot of steam, it went overpressure which might have caused the burning. I am not happy with these ProCook instructions, so I am going to talk to them about it.
Thank you for responding, and for taking the trouble to test this out yourself. I did return it to a high heat, and it seemed to take longer than the first time to get up to pressure. After the red button on the cooker popped up, I waited until there was obvious steam from the pressure regulator before moving to a low heat. Is it the case then, that as soon as the red button pops up, the cooker is at pressure? I'll be interested to hear what Pro Cook say. Thanks again for your time and trouble, and your lovely blog posts. I have your book, too, but I'm really enjoying this step by step journey.
Ooh this sounds super tasty. I might just have to put spiced potatoes on my meal planning for this week, they will be especially welcome as the weather is taking a dip in temperature at the moment.
One question, how many would this serve? Thank you for all the info you give.
I mean, you absolutely can't go wrong with spicy potatoes in your life.
Made your quick chilli last night for the first time - it was delicious and I loved the addition of the coriander stalks. I don't have the energy to be picking coriander leaves off to add to curries so generally chop the stalks and add them too.
I love Geeta’s chutney too. This sounds delicious Cat.
I'm getting loads of curly kale in my veg-box - this looks perfect.
I may well be being completely ridiculous here and missing the obvious, but on an instantpot do you mean to change the pressure to 'keep warm' when it has got up to pressure. Loving my pot but doing a lot of guessing as I go! This looks amazing, so thank you.
Hi Lisa,
No, you aren't being ridiculous, but that's not quite how it works. You don't have to do anything once the IP is up to pressure, it switches over automatically. It will also stop cooking at pressure automatically and release pressure in the way you have set. You have the option to set it to switch to keep warm after all the pressure has been released, but this won't kick in until this point. Does that make sense? It is just a question of terminology. With a stove top you have to actively reduce the heat, it isn't done automatically - I mention it in my recipes to remind stove top users they have to do it!
The inevitable happened - I burned the potatoes to the bottom of the pan during the second pressurisation. The base was beautifully clean after the first pressurisation, as per your instructions. I wondered whether the potatoes simply absorbed too much of the tamarind water. Or whether my PC, the basic ProCook 22cm/6 litre model requires a bit more water. Finally the cooker instructions say that it's at pressure when the safety valve pops up and the pressure valve emits a "steady flow" of steam. Is that "steady flow" wispy or vigorous? I kept it on high heat until there was a vigorous flow from the pressure valve. Finally, despite the mild stress occasioned, we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. Thank you! I'd love to get it right next time.
What a shame! I think perhaps I need to give more instruction on the liquid - if once you have stirred it in it seems a bit thick, best to thin it out a little. You need it to come back up to pressure quickly, did you return it to a high heat?
Re the cooker instructions, it should just be a wisp at the very most. To double check, I just cooked the rice from my latest recipe (ribs) in my Pro Cook. It gave out quite a lot of steam before it came up to high pressure, but as soon as it comes up to pressure the vapour virtually disappeared - there was no more than a wisp. So it is possible that if you have left it on a high heat until it gives out a lot of steam, it went overpressure which might have caused the burning. I am not happy with these ProCook instructions, so I am going to talk to them about it.
Thank you for responding, and for taking the trouble to test this out yourself. I did return it to a high heat, and it seemed to take longer than the first time to get up to pressure. After the red button on the cooker popped up, I waited until there was obvious steam from the pressure regulator before moving to a low heat. Is it the case then, that as soon as the red button pops up, the cooker is at pressure? I'll be interested to hear what Pro Cook say. Thanks again for your time and trouble, and your lovely blog posts. I have your book, too, but I'm really enjoying this step by step journey.
Ooh this sounds super tasty. I might just have to put spiced potatoes on my meal planning for this week, they will be especially welcome as the weather is taking a dip in temperature at the moment.
One question, how many would this serve? Thank you for all the info you give.
Roughly 4 people if served as part of a meal, maybe up to 6 for a side, 2-3 if it is all you are eating! It served 4 easily stuffed into flatbreads.
I mean, you absolutely can't go wrong with spicy potatoes in your life.
Made your quick chilli last night for the first time - it was delicious and I loved the addition of the coriander stalks. I don't have the energy to be picking coriander leaves off to add to curries so generally chop the stalks and add them too.
Sounds delicious! Thank you for the coriander tip! I’m always finding wilting herbs in the depths of our fridge.
Sounds utterly delicious. Noted with interest. Thanks, Catherine.