Lorna J. Sass - Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure

For My Mother

who introduced me to the magical world of pressure cooking and to the wondrous world of food

I was first introduced to the irresistible pleasures of pressure cooking in 1986. While on a trip to India, my mother had been very impressed by the magnificent curries and dals that she watched being turned out of the pressure cooker in a flash.

My mom wanted to replicate these dishes with the same speed and convenience back home. Thinking she wouldnt be able to locate a pressure cooker in this country (they had fallen out of fashion during the late fifties, probably due to Americas fascination with TV dinners and other convenience foods), she carted back a rather tinny, old-fashioned jiggle-top model and began producing full-flavored lentil soups in seven minutes and chickpea curries in under half an hour.

I was very impressed with the soul-satisfying results, and wondered why in our very busy lives we werent all using pressure cookers. I soon found out: The very mention of pressure cooking induced fear and trembling. Each time I brought up the subject among friends and colleagues, I heard a litany of Tales of the Jiggle-Top, replete with gruesome details of Aunt Tillies split pea soup on the ceiling.

Since I had no such trauma in my family history, I remained undaunted. After cooking hundreds of different dishes in a variety of pressure cookers, I became convinced that the newly designed pots now on the market were perfectly safe. In 1989 I published Cooking Under Pressure and have since received many enthusiastic letters from the converted.

Over the past few years, more and more people have become committed to lowering the fat and cholesterol in their diets. Because the pressure cooker creates such full-flavored foods with little to no fat, it is the ideal ally in fulfilling such a goal. And since this powerhouse-of-a-pot performs some of its most impressive magic with vegetables, beans, and grains, I decided to focus an entire volume on vegetarian cooking.

Pressure cooking is the pressured cooks best way to beat the clock. Its the only satisfactory reply Ive found to the questions that plague health-conscious Americans: How am I going to eat healthy food without spending lots of time in the kitchen? How can I achieve two-hour taste in ten minutes?

The answer: Cook under pressure.

Happy cooking!

Lorna J. Sass

New York City

If you need information on purchasing a pressure cooker or would like to share your recipes for the next edition of this book, Id be happy to hear from you. (Please be sure to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope if requesting a response.) Write to me c/o Cooking Under Pressure, P.O. Box 704, New York, N.Y. 10024.