Pressure-cooking lentils?
Tim C.
In particular toovar dal for an indian recipe, but also generally, can I
put them in a pressure cooker in the container on the trivet as for other
veggies? And will they cook? Or will they be a disaster?
I'm a bit loath to put them in water directly in the pan in case they froth
up and/or stick and burn on the base? Am I being a twit?
--
Tim C.
David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)
> Ok, a daft question.
> In particular toovar dal for an indian recipe, but also generally, can I
> put them in a pressure cooker in the container on the trivet as for other
> veggies? And will they cook? Or will they be a disaster?
They'll be fine. My Indian flatmate in Philadelphia always used a
pressure cooker for lentils, including toor dal (I think that's the same
thing as toovar.) I can't remember the cooking times, but it wasn't
much... I think he did a little bit by trial and error, and eventually
got things right- you could probably look up more precise timings...
--
(*) of the royal duchy of city south and deansgate -www.davidhorne.net
(email address on website) "If people think God is interesting, the
onus is on them to show that there is anything there to talk about.
Otherwise they should just shut up about it." -Richard Dawkins
Tim C.
chancellor wrote:
> Tim C. <timcha...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> Ok, a daft question.
>> In particular toovar dal for an indian recipe, but also generally, can I
>> put them in a pressure cooker in the container on the trivet as for other
>> veggies? And will they cook? Or will they be a disaster?
>
> They'll be fine. My Indian flatmate in Philadelphia always used a
> pressure cooker for lentils, including toor dal (I think that's the same
> thing as toovar.) I can't remember the cooking times, but it wasn't
> much... I think he did a little bit by trial and error, and eventually
> got things right- you could probably look up more precise timings...
Thanks David, I think toovar and toor are the same as well.
Ok, armed with that I'll give it a try. I just didn't want the ceiling
covered in sticky froth. :-(
It's for the dal curry (with coconut milk) in Madhur jaffrey's book. The
kids love it - but it takes too long to knock up in the evening cooked
according to her recipe.
--
Tim C.
CP
> Ok, a daft question.
> In particular toovar dal for an indian recipe, but also generally, can I
> put them in a pressure cooker in the container on the trivet as for other
> veggies? And will they cook? Or will they be a disaster?
However you cook them, make sure they're well and truly cooked before
you eat them. I had IBS for a year after a lentil dish that contained
lentils that weren't properly cooked.
Bruce
My grandmother always cooked lentils in water directly in the pan of
her Prestige pressure cooker. I have never tasted better lentil soup.
David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)
> On Wed, 21 May 2008 14:25:09 +0100, d4g...@yahoo.co.ukDavid Horne, _the_
> chancellor wrote:
>
> > Tim C. <timcha...@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >> Ok, a daft question.
> >> In particular toovar dal for an indian recipe, but also generally, can I
> >> put them in a pressure cooker in the container on the trivet as for other
> >> veggies? And will they cook? Or will they be a disaster?
> >
> > They'll be fine. My Indian flatmate in Philadelphia always used a
> > pressure cooker for lentils, including toor dal (I think that's the same
> > thing as toovar.) I can't remember the cooking times, but it wasn't
> > much... I think he did a little bit by trial and error, and eventually
> > got things right- you could probably look up more precise timings...
>
> Thanks David, I think toovar and toor are the same as well.
> Ok, armed with that I'll give it a try. I just didn't want the ceiling
> covered in sticky froth. :-(
I admit that's what's always worried me about using a pressure cooker
(I've still never used them), but I don't remember any disasters- though
at the beginning it was sometimes more liquid than he wanted it to be. I
remember one of the first things he did in Philly was to go to an Indian
shop where he bought the cooker. There were a lot there, and he
explained that's the way his family (Punjabi) always cooked the lentils.
They'd generally cook the sauce separately and mix everything together
later.
Tim C.
chancellor wrote:
> They'd generally cook the sauce separately and mix everything together
> later.
Yes, cook the lentils and separately the spices/onions whatever then add
them together later. Very simple really, just takes time.
--
Tim C.
Tim C.
Ok I'm calmer now. I'll try it over the weekend with a couple of tea-towels
at the ready just in case :-)
--
Tim C.
David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)
That's where the pressure cooker comes in. I seem to remember he could
rustle up an excellent lentil curry in about 15 minutes, and only a
small part of that was the lentil cooking time! :)
Steph Peters
http://www.forteinc.com/apn/ wrote:
Her cooking method for lentils is excessively long-winded. Rinse the
lentils if they are dusty, put into a saucepan with about the same volume of
boiled water as lentils, bring back to the boil then simmer. Keep an eye on
the pan and stir as the lentils will absorb pretty much all the liquid, and
be done in about 15-20 minutes for red ones, 30 or so for green or brown. I
wouldn't bother with a pressure cooker.
Steph
Who cooks lentils regularly
--
Save the earth. It's the only planet with chocolate.
Steph Peters, Manchester, England
email: delete invalid from e...@sandbenders.demon.co.uk.invalid
David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)
How often do you cook toor dal? I think there's a good reason the
pressure cooker is favoured by many for it, though I've never got a
pressure cooker myself. If I cooked lentils regularly, I'd probably get
one.
Guy Snape
In the instruction book in my pressure cooker, it says to make sure the
pan is not more than a third full with lentils + water combined to avoid
frothing up and blocking the safety valve. You don't need the trivet at
all. Split lentils cook in well under ten minutes, whole ones about
fifteen IIRC, but stop them earlier to check - it doesn't take long to
get back up to pressure if they're undercooked. Remember that pulses
absorb a lot of water, so make sure there's plenty in there to avoid
sticking.
- guy
Tim C.
chancellor wrote:
That'S the point, 30 minutes of watching the things or stirring them is not
on in the evening is a bit of a drag. I have other things to do. 15 mins is
ok, but Toor dal seems to take a lot longer.
> How often do you cook toor dal? I think there's a good reason the
> pressure cooker is favoured by many for it, though I've never got a
> pressure cooker myself. If I cooked lentils regularly, I'd probably get
> one.
I tried it. On the trivet they just went hard - as not enough steam was
around them. Just bunging them in the bottom with water worked fine. 15
minutes was long enough. Got to be easier than MJ's way.
--
Tim C.
David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)
> On Wed, 21 May 2008 20:05:55 +0100, d4g...@yahoo.co.ukDavid Horne, _the_
> chancellor wrote:
[]
> > How often do you cook toor dal? I think there's a good reason the
> > pressure cooker is favoured by many for it, though I've never got a
> > pressure cooker myself. If I cooked lentils regularly, I'd probably get
> > one.
>
> I tried it. On the trivet they just went hard - as not enough steam was
> around them. Just bunging them in the bottom with water worked fine. 15
> minutes was long enough. Got to be easier than MJ's way.
I'm glad it worked for you- I noticed that a lot of the online recipes
for toordaal mention the pressure cooker.