I plan on getting another pressure cooker.

The one I currently have is a 4 qt (liter) Fagor Elite (stainless steel)

with a base of a width of about 8 1/2 inches.

I would like to get a larger one, such as a 6 or an 8 qt Fagor

which a store sells with a 2 pressure setting (high at 15 psi and

low at 8 psi).

I mainly use my pressure cooker for cooking brown rice (in a small

bowl sitting on top of a trivet in the cooker), oatmeal, greens,

raw beans, and a few times I've cooked dal. All portion sizes are

one to two servings.

I thought if I got a larger pc, I could use it for more servings of

soup (and making broth), cooking a whole chicken, and turkey drumsticks.

I plan on using the pc to make biryani, and chicken and vegetable stews

also.

Since I am making portion sizes for only one to two servings, would

not an 8 qt cooker be too large to make Indian dishes which is the main

reason why I got the 4 qt cooker in the first place (along with cooking

beans rather than using canned beans)?

I've seen a picture of a 3.5 liter-sized Prestige anodized pressure cooker

and that size impresses me as being ideal for a one serving Indian dish, or

cooking rice directly in the cooker due to its small size. (I use a small

bowl for the rice in my 4 qt cooker due to the width of the base.)

If you were getting a cooker and were planning on mainly using it for smaller servings, but occassionally might want to use it for soups or cooking a whole chicken, would you go for the 6 or 8 qt cooker? (I plan on buying only the Fagor brand. I want stainless steel and a wide base.)

Good morning, are you saying you normally only make portions for 2 and you have a 4 litre (4 quart) pressure cooker ? Now you want to make soups/stews in it ? Wouldn't 3 litres of soup be a lot (leaving space in pan)?

Steve

For two people, your pressure cooker should be large enough. Of course it is too small if you want to cook whole chicken etc. in it and a larger cooker may be useful. I tend to cook whole chicken in an oven or a slow cooker.

I have only ever used Prestige, Futura and Hawkins pressure cookers, so am not familiar with the Fagor.

Personally, I don't very often cook rice in a pressure cooker, unless I am cooking a vegetable pilaf and sometimes biryani. All my family in India that cook rice in pressure cooker, cook it directly in the pressure cooker itself, not in a bowl on a trivet. So a 4 litre is ample enough.

My suggestion would be to get your next one larger than you need, since you already have a small one for everyday use. A large one could then be used for whole chicken etc. when you have visitors.

Can't help on capacity, but I always go for broad rather than deep.

More versatile.

Mine have been Prestige (60+ years ago, with 3 pressures) & Duramatic now.

= tim

Regarding the space question for soup ("isn't 3 L enough?) ...

One half of the inner space of the pc is required to be empty, thus the

need for a larger pot for cooking.

I thought it would be useful to be able to make broth quicker than

in a non-pc.

According to a pc website (M...V.....), a 4 qt pc takes a maximum of

8 cups of liquid (with some solids, 10 cups).

Mamta - I understand you don't use a pc for cooking rice.

If you try cooking brown rice in a small bowl (filled with water or

broth, about 1 1/2 to 1 liquid to rice ratio, with a bit of salt),

and cook for 20 minutes, natural release, you may enjoy the chewier texture of the rice. That is, unless you like softer grains.

My concern was using a larger sized container for a smaller (2 serving size)

portion of a subji, stew, or dal and having to "reach down" to scoop out

the dish. Then again, the Fagor pots are wide and generally not as tall

as the Kuhn Rikun design.

I wonder if anyone uses the low pressure settings on their cookers in case

they have the lower pressure option.

surely, soups are simmered, not boiled, and certainly not taken up to the temperatures the pressure cooker gets to?

We've always had "high dome" pressure cookers (Prestige) so you could fill them to nearly the top when making soup etc..

Steve