I wrote earlier about the Prestige Pressure cookers ,which I got as our wedding gifts . One of them is here with me in Canada. There is no doubt about it’s efficiency in performing fast cooking.

Well, I have this ’Hawkins Futura Pressure Cooker ’ in India , which my husband bought for me some 10 years back, during one of our visits to India. It was around Rs 1000 that time. Price might have increased now .

You see, pressure cookers are very handy for fast cooking , and specially, when you are a NRI , people are visiting you frequently , when you happen to be in India. These cookers lend you a hand in doing your cooking faster for the guests.

I found this Hawkins Futura cooker quite useful. It is actually a beauty ! The model is very sleek and nice unlike the normal one . I loved it’s construction and appearance as compared to Prestige pressure cooker . The gasket is thin and closes tightly. There is no leakage or anything.

But , I should admit one thing . Your cooking is done fast as any other cooker , but the items you put in get totally mashed . If it is rice you have put in for cooking , when you open the lid, you can see it as a porridge ! Same with vegetables too ! With non-veg items, it will be just a soup with bones . I tried with less timing also, still found everything mashed up .

For cooking lentils, ( dhal) I found this cooker very useful. So, for making sambar , I cooked tuvar dhal in futura . It minimised cooking time, plus the dhal was cooked soft .For other purposes, I relied on Prestige pressure cooker .

I have told my experience with this beautiful model of Hawkins . It is upto you to decide whether to buy it or not.If your family is big and you need to cook fast if you are a working person, you can go for this cooker . BTW, who does not like sambar ?

P.S . You can email me if you wish to know what sambar is and it’s recipe ! ( for the sake of our foreign members & friends .)

                     Priya
                     tpriya@mail.com

Hello Clicker ,
             As per your request , I am adding in the recipe of sambar . Hope this will be useful to other foreign friends as well.      Priya
                           
SAMBAR

Sambar is also called lentil curry. We use Tuvar dhal to prepare this curry. You may get this in Indian shops in U.S & U.K. Or else, you can use split pea lentils .

Lentils are full of protein and good for your health. When you add vegetables to make this curry, you get vitamins also from the fresh vegetables. So, this is really a nutritious curry!

Ingredients used:

250 gms tuvar dhal / lentils
lemon size ball of tamarind
4-5 or more red , dried chillies , according to your taste
2- 3 green chillies , more or less according to your taste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida ( optional)
2 sprigs of curry leaves
2 onions, sliced thin, lengthwise
1 brinjal , cut into medium pieces
2-3 drumsticks
1 tomato, cut into small pieces
4-5 lady’s finger
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
enough oil for frying the vegetables
2 tbsp ghee, for seasoning

Method:

Cook the tuvar dhal/lentils in water till it becomes very soft. I use the pressure cooker for this purpose. Dhal gets cooked in no time!

Heat a tablespoon of oil and fry the red chillies, coriander seeds , cumin seeds and a pinch of asafoetida (optional) . Allow this to cool and grind to a powder.

Soak the tamarind in hot water and extract the juice. Cut the drumsticks into 2 inch pieces and slice onions thinly.Cut and keep other vegetables you wish to add.

Heat oil (about 2-3 tbsp) in a saucepan, and add the sliced onions. When it turns transparent, add the other cut vegetables and fry for two minutes. Add the ground powder to this and mix well.

Pour tamarind extract to this along with turmeric powder. Add enough salt to taste. Let this mixture boil in low flame so that the vegetables get cooked well.

Mix in the cooked tuvar dhal/lentils to this tamarind mixture. You need to add salt again for dhal. Mix again and taste for salt.Let this simmer for 6-10 minutes.

In another frying pan, heat two tablespoons of ghee and put in the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add curry leaves and fenugreek. Add this seasoning to sambar. Add the chopped fresh coriander leaves. Your sambar is ready now!

This sambar tastes good with plain rice , idli or dosa.
Drumsticks add special taste to this dish. Other than that, you can add your favourite vegetables!

I hope my recipe is clear to all.
                                 Priya

P.S When you prepare this, you will find the whole house smelling of sambar . You need to put on the exhaust fan !

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