Rinku Bhattacharya - Instant Indian: Classic Foods from Every Region of India Made Easy in the Instant Pot

INSTANT
INDIAN

INSTANT
INDIAN

Classic Foods from Every Region of India
Made Easy in the Instant Pot

Rinku Bhattacharya

Hippocrene Books, Inc.

New York

Copyright 2018 by Rinku Bhattacharya.

All rights reserved.

For further information, contact:

HIPPOCRENE BOOKS, INC.

171 Madison Avenue

New York, NY 10016

www.hippocrenebooks.com

INSTANT POT and associated logos are owned by Double Insight, Inc. Used under license.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Bhattacharya, Rinku, author.

Title: Instant Indian : classic foods from every region of India made easy in the Instant Pot / Rinku Bhattacharya.

Description: New York : Hippocrene Books, Inc., [2018] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018028312| ISBN 9780781813853 (pbk.) | ISBN 0781813859 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, Indic. | Pressure cooking. | Electric cooking. | LCGFT: Cookbooks.

Classification: LCC TX724.5.I4 B4993 2018 | DDC 641.5954--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018028312

Book design by Brittany Hince and K & P Publishing

Printed in the United States of America.

CONTENTS

Introduction

There are few modern tools that have survived the test of generations in an Indian kitchen. Over time we have grudgingly replaced the grinding stone with the electric grinder and the hand grater with the food processor, however, the pressure cooker retains its place of pride. It was an essential tool in my grandmothers kitchen, in fact her main pressure cooker endured thirty years of everyday use. Of course my mother used hers, and in my kitchen I too have had an assortment of pressure cookersthe first one arrived as a wedding gift from my mother-in-law. I began consistently using it once my children were born, beginning with making baby food in minutes, then homemade chicken broth, and finally moving to nourishing lentil and rice stews called khichuri.

My kitchen is the central hub of activity in our house, usually the room I first enter once I come home from work and catch up with the children. The hum of the pressure cooker is a consistent sound, almost like the rhythm of the kitchen. This steamy song links the sounds of my Indian childhood with those of my children growing up several continents away.

Stews dominate the Indian table, in the form of curries and dals, and the pressure cooker is the Indian home cooks tool to ensure that dals are meltingly soft and meats comfortingly tender. Many people refer to the pressure cooker as simply cooker. Other staples on the Indian table, such as whole grains, porridges, compotes, and steamed desserts all fit beautifully into the pressure cooker universe. From a practical standpoint, the pressure cooker is well-suited to the Indian kitchen, where cooks are conscious about energy usage and, like everyone else, need their dinner in a hurry.

The heavy-bottomed base of the pressure cooker allows for the preparation of the curry or spice base, and often results in converting Indian dishes into the much coveted one-pot meal. In fact, it is this very distinction that makes the pressure cooker more of a natural in the Indian kitchen, in contrast to the slow cooker. At the heart of Indian cooking is tempering, slowly browning spices and onions, without which the rich flavor of Indian foods are incomplete. Of course, when speaking of the depth of flavor, it is certainly worth mentioning that pressure cooking retains more flavor and allows you to cook with a lot less fat. To obtain subtleness of texture, it is important to be able to control the temperature at varying levels during the cooking process.

A couple of years ago, I purchased an Instant Pot brand electric multi-function cooker, intending to use it mostly for slow cooking. However, once I discovered timed fix and forget pressure cooking, there has been no going backit has been instant love! I learned how to adapt all of my tried-and-true recipes for this much-loved device and we are a happy family. We traded the gentle hum and hiss of the stove top for the beeps and numerical countdown of the Instant Pot. I am thrilled to be able to re-create all our usual favorites, most in less than thirty minutes, without compromising flavors. And rather than resorting to the takeout menu, we have easy and satisfying dals, chana masala, and butter chicken all at our finger tips. In fact, if you are already comfortable with a pressure cooker, the electric pressure cooker will make you quite delirious. It dramatically reduces the active time needed as it cooks and shuts down on its own, requiring no babysitting.

My goal with this book is to offer you a broad foundation of Indian cuisine adapted for the Instant Pot and then let you decide how you want to adapt and incorporate them into your own life. To assist you in this journey I have used the Instant Pot to simplify the recipes without compromising their authenticity. My selection of recipes has been at the cusp of nostalgic and traditional. There are favorites like the ones that bring students into my kitchen, and family heirlooms that take you on a journey around India. You will also find recipes for most Indian restaurant staples, ranging from Butter Chicken to Vindaloo, Chana Masala to Aloo Gobi, holding court alongside homey dishes like an Assamese Egg and Potato Curry. I have long wanted to write a book showcasing the cultural diversity of Indian cooking and at the same time, keeping it easy and accessible for everyone. Thanks to Instant Pot I have been able to do just that.

Two features of the Instant Pot that are best-suited for Indian cooking are the pressure cooking and the steaming functions. I have never been able to steam as effectively with other devices as I can with the Instant Pot. Traditional steamed dishes such as Idlis (Rice Cakes), Dhoklas (Chickpea Flour Cakes), and Bhapa Doi Shorse Maach (Steamed Salmon with Mustard and Poppy Seeds) are all now easily accessible for a weeknight meal. Then there is getting truly creativethe Yogurt setting works wonders for yogurt of course, but in addition it provides the absolutely perfect temperature to ferment traditional South Indian dosa and idli batter, and believe it or not for sprouting legumes in less than 24 hours. With this function, the possibilities are endless.

I also offer you tips throughout the book on planning and simplifying so you can incorporate your favorite Indian dishes into your weeknight mealtime rotationa challenge I live with almost every day of my life! I am a busy commuter working mom, who has learned to conquer the weekday meal challenge with some planning ahead. A lot of the tips in this book are ones that I wish someone had given me years and years ago! Think of this as an authentic girlfriends guide to Indian cooking.

And speaking of friends, one of the best things about the Instant Pot is that it has inspired many online groups and they help us form a community. My cookbook has its very own Facebook community where I and others share recipes and tipsInstant Pot Regional Indian Recipes and Cooking. In addition, there are always recipes, ideas, and more on my blog Spice Chronicles. I look forward to seeing you there!