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Hawkins Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker 5 L | | |
| Features:
| • | Hawkins | | • | Pressure Cooker | | • | Stainless Steel | | • | 5 Litres |
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| Customer Reviews:
 A must have December 23, 2007
M. Kaur
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Indian cooking becomes ridiculously easy with a pressure cooker - especially if you are planning on cooking lentils or beans. Not only do you save time, you also retain nutrients which can otherwise be destroyed when exposed to high heat for long periods of time.
Safety is virtually guaranteed with Hawkins' foolproof design - if the lid is not closed properly, the cooker just won't attain full pressure and so won't become dangerous; if there is even a little pressure remaining, the lid just won't be forced open. And if - this happened to me once - you put in too little water by mistake and the cooker boils dry, you are still okay thanks to a safety valve ingeniously placed just under the bar on the lid - so that when it opens up, the heat gets deflected away from you.
I have only used aluminum cookers, but the stainless steel ones are great too - if a little more expensive. Worth it if you want to avoid stains that can sometimes be a problem with aluminum cookers. I have three cookers in 2, 3.5 and 4.5 litre sizes. 2L is ideal if you're living alone and the 3.5 is just right for a two person family. I use the 4.5 when I cook for guests. I will still buy the 5L because it really is the most convenient size for an average family.
My only grouse with buying these cookers online is that you don't get accessories or replacement parts as easily as you can in Indian stores. After I blew out the safety valve in my 2L, I'm waiting for my next trip to India to get the lid fixed. Also, the 5L (and above) sizes become much more useful when you can use them with accessories like inserts - for multilevel cooking inside the cooker (cook two dishes in one go) and steamers - (for rice cakes etc.)
Bottom line - if you are planning on cooking Indian dishes, invest in a pressure cooker. Its versatile enough to cook pulses, vegetables and meats and will last you a lifetime!
Indian whistling pressure cooker is a kitchen champ August 19, 2007
Samantha Lewis (Monterey, CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I absolutely love my Hawkins pressure cooker.
The construction is top notch, a well engineered design that has the oval top lid actually under the top lip of the pot, sealing like the door of an airplane. It is impossible to open this cooker while still pressurized, making it a very safe cooker, in addition, as the lid doesn't twist on, like almost all other pressure cooker designs, the gasket isn't subjected to wear and it lasts a lot longer.
The bottom of the pot is a sandwich of stainless steel surrounding a thick aluminium insert for even heat distribution, a must if you're going to be frying before cooking under pressure. Oh yes, and this is one of the famous Indian whistling cookers. Once you get the measure of your cooktop and where to turn the heat down to after full pressure is built, the regular whistle steam release makes a very useful timer. You'll find many recipes from India using this timing method. A very fine cooker indeed, I highly recommend it.
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