In this fast moving world, pressure cooker is one of the must haves in every kitchen. It not only reduces cooking time drastically, but also retains the flavour of food and saves energy. It is hygienic too. There are many varieties of pressure cookers available in the market. They can be categorised according to the supply of heat source like stove top, induction top or electric cookers. One can also find them made in various metals and alloys like stainless steel, aluminium. Cooking in stainless steel is healthier as steel which is predominantly made of iron leaches out minerals in the food, thus making food more healthier. But aluminium is the more preferred cooking metal because of its heat capacity i.e it is easier to heat aluminium faster.

Moving on, here we are going to talk about some tips and how to use  traditional pressure cooker. These cookers have become very safe to use with new technology and are not very cost effective.

How does pressure cooker work:
Pressure cooker works on the principle of cooking food in high pressure steam which breaks down food very quickly. Liquid in the form of water or the liquid of the food is heated and forms steam.The steam created is sealed inside. The pressure is further elevated because of constant heating. This steam permeates into food tenderising it. This way even the hard food items like beans and meat get cooked very fast.

 Even though many foods are not recommended to be cooked in pressure cooker,  with experience and better understanding of the water measurement and  heat treatment of pressure on different food items almost everything can be cooked. What is the most amazing is that it cooks most time consuming foods in such a less time that it saves those several hours we used to spend in the kitchen cooking and not to forget motivates one to cook often and eat at home. A nice way to be healthy.

These pressure cookers have a lid and a base. The lid has a safety valve and a pressure vent with a whistle on the top. The pressure valve is positioned such that even if it melts the hot steam does not shoot up avoiding any severe accidents.  The handle on the lid is kept loose to help the user to be able to flex the lid to seal the lid of the cooker. The gasket around the lid helps in sealing the steam inside pressure cooker.

How to choose a pressure cooker:
1. Structure is a very important feature. A cooker with a deep body and heavier base like hawkins pressure cooker should be chosen as it helps in creating and directing the pressure exerted by the steam in the right way on the steam vent.
2. The quantity  of food to be cooked everyday.

Here are some  tips on how to use cooker effectively:
1. Deep frying or roasting should not be done more than 15 minutes in a cooker as it can bring structural changes.
2. As longer periods of dry cooking e.g. baking causes significant changes in the strength of the material over time. It would be better if the baking and cooking are done in separate cookers if possible.
3. Ensure that the lid tightly seals the cooker. Place lid handle 90 degrees to body handle. Move it inside the cooker and then turn it to bring it above cooker handle. Adjust the lid by twisting the handle of the lid until you feel it is sealed. If the seal is not tight you will find the steam escaping. In that case, repeat the process again.
4. Begin with medium to high flame to achieve full pressure. After you hear the first whistle, reduce the flame to medium to simmer flame.
5. Do not tap the ladle/spoons at the sides of the top of the body. This will make the surface uneven in the long run and would hinder proper sealing of the cooker.
6. For cooking noodles, beans, lentils, etc. add 1-2 tsp of oil and stir it well in the water. Let the water come to first boil after which close the lid. This will avoid forming of froth and blocking of steam vent.
7. Always keep the steam vent clean.
8. For food which grow bigger in size do not fill the cooker more than half.
9. How much water to add is also an important aspect as too much water will forbid the food to cook properly and make it lose its flavour. Where as less water may cause food to burn and safety valve to melt. 
10. As a rule of thumb, one cup of water is needed for 10 minutes of cooking. For every extra 10 minutes add 1/2 cup of more water.
11. For your own recipe, consider pressure cooking time to be 1/3 of its cooking time and check. If it requires further cooking then adjust the time according to the cooking needed.
12. Addition of acidic foods like tomatoes, vinegar, makes the skin of legumes harder to cook, hence should be added post pressure cooking.
13. More than one items can be cooked together. Start cooking the food item which takes longer to cook and add faster to cook items later.
14. Soaking of legumes and slight browning of meat reduces cooking time. Soaking of legumes also improves absorption on nutrients.
15. It is always a good idea to go through the usage manual to understand the tricks of using a pressure cooker much better.
These are some tips that we have collated after several years of personal use and several years of experience gained by people around us. We hope that they are helpful to you. Please do share some good suggestion that you have learnt that you use while you use pressure cookers and would like the readers to know.