If love had a language, then it would be delicious food. We humans have been blessed with the art of cooking to satiate the wild desires of our taste buds. And what is better than home-cooked food that is mouth-smacking?. You don’t always need to follow elaborate recipes to indulge yourself in a wholesome platter of heartwarming meals. Love evolves slowly, but your food can be made quickly and yet turn out to be flavorful. Ditch those lengthy recipes, tie your aprons and get your pressure cookers ready! Yes, you read it right, PRESSURE COOKERS. Your pressure cooker can be your kitchen buddy for cooking meals quickly and also save some gas bills. It’s a versatile utensil that, if handled with proper technique (which you’ll master with regular use), can relieve the burden off your shoulders by saving some time and money without compromising on taste. Here are 20 super easy yet mouth-watering recipes that you can make at home in a pressure cooker:
1. Daal Khichdi
Easy on the stomach, super comforting, and flavorful, this authentic Indian dish is sure to give you a warm hug every time you savor it. It’s easy to cook in a pressure cooker in less than 30 mins. All you need for cooking this is rice, moong dal (yellow lentils), onions, tomatoes, ginger, and some basic spices with ghee (clarified butter). Just follow the basic steps and use a pressure cooker for the whole process. Keep the flame medium and cook till 3-4 whistles. Garnish with some coriander and a dollop of ghee and enjoy it hot.
2 Lemon Pepper Chicken
It looks luxurious and is full of creaminess. This dish goes well with your rice as well as roti’s. It gets ready in just 45 mins from preparation to cooking time. The ingredients are chicken, curd, lemon juice, crushed peppers, garam masala, ginger and garlic paste, and cooking oil. Cook these in a pressure cooker for 4-5 whistles, and your yummy dish is ready to serve.
3. Daal Tadka
This protein-rich food is the perfect complement to your pullow. It can be made in a pressure cooker with the perfect consistency. Replace your regular utensil with a pressure cooker and learn the art of saving time. Follow the usual recipe that you like, and with the help of a pressure cooker, you can cook this in less than 30 mins on high flame. Soft and mushy, your daal tadka will be the star of lunch or dinner.
4. Chicken Biryani
Now, this extraordinary blend of aromatic rice and tender chicken can be cooked with ease at home in just 50 mins using a pressure cooker and biryani spice mix. Cook the marinated chicken and add the soaked rice with just the right amount of water to the whole mixture. Let it cook till three whistles on medium flame and enjoy this delicacy.
5. Egg Curry
Authentic Indian spice blend- garam masala lends this curry its signature taste. The vibrant red color is a feast for the eyes, and the complex yet subtle flavors get the taste buds on party mode. Boil the egg in the pressure cooker first and then make the curry using coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, finely chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes. Just let it simmer for 20 mins in an open-lid pressure cooker, and your rich egg curry is ready.
6. Chana Masala
The perfect blend of spices and protein-packed Chana can give you a healthy dose of nutrients without compromising on taste. Pre-soak your Chana overnight to aid in cooking. Be creative with your recipe and use a pressure cooker as your pan and get it ready in just 4-5 whistles. Serve along with steamed rice and enjoy!
7. Mushroom Butter Masala
The creaminess and richness of the butter is something amazing. You will keep licking your fingers when you try this recipe. It doesn’t take a lot of effort and still tastes fabulous. Customize the famous recipes of Mushroom Butter Masala according to your taste buds and use your pressure cooker without a lid to cook it instantly on medium to high flame.
8. Spicy Chicken Stew
Just a handful of ingredients, 20 mins on the stove, and this comforting stew can be soothing to your cough and cold. Just drizzle some oil in the pressure cooker and add some roughly chopped carrots, spring onions, ginger, and garlic cloves and sauté until soft. Add soy sauce, boneless chicken, red chili sauce, salt, and sugar to taste. Now add some vegetable stock or water and pressure cook for 15 mins. Enjoy hot with some croutons.
9. Rajma Masala
Rajma Chawal can be your go-to dinner recipe that will make your taste buds happy and lively. A steaming hot bowl of Rajma Masala is love. The recipe of its making is no secret but what you can improvise is by swapping your regular pan with a pressure cooker that will save fuel and soften your Rajma in no time.
10. Aloo Gobi
This classic Indian dish has found its way to almost all Indian homes. It’s tasty and filling and goes with rice and roti’s well. It’s vibrant and healthy. Using a pressure cooker to boil your potatoes and cauliflower to perfection and assemble this dish is not going to you reject your decision. Garnish with some fresh coriander to make it attractive.
11. Lemon Rice
Are you fond of rice and can have it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner? This versatile rice dish has its origins in South India and is mouth-watering. The curry leaves and lemon juice add the typical taste to this dish, and peanuts add the crunch. It can be paired with any curry or enjoyed on its own. It’s a one-pot dish and can be cooked in a pressure cooker.
12. Quinoa Poha
Quinoa is a superfood, and incorporating it into Indian cuisine isn’t a difficult task. Weight watchers can now enjoy a wholesome plate of Quinoa Poha without worrying about the carbs. Cooked in very little oil, you can improvise the recipe according to your likeness and make a healthy meal in a pressure cooker in just 15-20 mins.
13. Carrot Halwa
Satiate your sweet tooth with this extravagant carrot halwa that takes just 30 mins to cook in a pressure cooker with little efforts. It’s sweet, it’s tasty, it’s rich, and it’s heavenly. It’s a perfect dessert option that is healthy at the same time. Made with carrots, ghee, sugar or jaggery, milk, and aromatic cardamom pods, you are sure to carve it.
14 Mango Chutney
A complementary pair to all your meals is chutneys, and when it’s homemade, it’s even better. Tangy and wonderful, mango chutney will make you merry. You can make it instantly in a pressure cooker following your mother’s recipe, which will take you back to your childhood memories. Substitute sugar with jaggery to make it healthy.
15 Matar Paneer
Soft paneer in a spicy gravy with peas is comfort food. The blend of aromatic spices makes your kitchen smell heavenly. Put your spices, fried paneer, and peas into your pressure cooker, sauté everything , and pressure cook for 25 mins to get the perfect consistency of the gravy. Serve alongside pullow and parathas.
16. Tomato-Garlic Rasam
Your South Indian meal is incomplete without a bowl of tangy rasam. It’s refreshing and spicy that doing to awaken you. This soupy Indian curry can be made with just a few ingredients in a pressure cooker in 15 mins. Tomato, garlic, rasam powder, asafetida, curry leaves, and mustard seeds lend their magic to this curry. Serve rasam as an appetizer drink or with rice for a hearty meal.
17. Eggless Sponge Cake
Bite into a cake whenever you feel like it; it needs no occasion. But, you don’t have an oven? Turn your pressure cooker into an oven by layering it with a thick layer of salt. Always precook it by covering the lid upside down. Add your batter into a cake tin, place it inside and close the lid upside down, and your cake is ready.
18. Bhaigan Ka Bharta
If you only thought this dish could be made by grilling eggplants over the stove, then you are wrong. This variation is also super delicious and nutritious. Boil your eggplants and potatoes in a pressure cooker until soft. Mash them well, add mustard oil, chopped onions, and garlic, add some fresh coriander, salt to taste, and enjoy with your roti or parathas.
19. Ghugni
Made of whole yellow peas and a lot of spices, this semi-gravy dish is versatile. You can make chat out of it or enjoy it on its own. Pressure cooking helps in softening the whole yellow peas perfectly and also infusing the gravy into each of them. It gets ready within 30 mins when cooked on high flame in a pressure cooker.
20. Jeera Rice
This aromatic rice dish could be paired with anything and everything. It’s simple yet flavorful. Made with only three ingredients, jeera, rice, and ghee, anyone can cook it within 20 mins. Add ghee to your pressure cooker and then a pinch of jeera. Let it crackle, and then add the soaked rice and salt to taste. Add water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles, and your Jeera Rice is all good to serve.
