Recently I made my first full dish in my pressure cooker.

It consisted of lentils (brown), cubed squash, diced tomatoes,

sauteed onions in olive oil mixed with hungarian paprika, cumin,

cayenne pepper, and chopped chili peppers, vegetable broth, and

a small amount of salt (steamed chopped kale added after cooking was

done).

The time for cooking was to be 7 to 9 minutes (at high pressure).

After 11 minutes, a little liquid was left and the lentils were

still a bit crunchy (as in not fully cooked). I resealed the cooker,

added a bit more liquid, cooked for 5 more minutes, after which

time the lentils were fully cooked. (As a side note, note that the

cooker was allowed to come down to normal pressure naturally which

took about 5 minutes the first time, and about two minutes for the

second cooking.)

I have been told two explanations for why the lentils may have

required a longer cooking time: that I used old lentils and/or

that tomatoes (freshly diced), being acidic could retard the

cooking time of the lentils. (I added only a minimal amount of

salt, so I don't consider that being a factor in affecting the cooking

time for the lentils. Even the vegetable broth used was homemade and

didn't include salt.)

For Indian dishes consisting of various elements cooked in a pressure

cooker and are done so at the same time, how does a cook deal with a

recipe that calls for a tomato component without having its acidic nature affect the cooking time of raw beans in the dish?

Do you simply add the tomato component after the initial cooking?

Do you cook the beans separately first and then add to the rest of

the dish? (In this case, lentils don't require a long cooking time,

so the recipe called for cooking everything at the same time

other than adding tender greens, such as swiss chard or kale

after the initial cooking was completed in the pressure cooker.

If a dish calls for salt, do you add the salt after the initial cooking

period has completed?

The lentil stew turned out very well, albeit for the longer cooking

time for the lentils which affected the texture of the squash, making

it softer than desired. (The dish in the recipe book was called,

"Moroccan Lentil Stew." For my taste, there was too heavy a cumin

flavor as well as too much heat from the hot spices in the dish.

Next time, I will try to adapt the recipe to a flavor reflecting a more

traditional Indian cuisine treatment for this dish. I will have to explore

what spice compliments cumin to provide a less harsh taste. The hungarian

paprika and tomatoes, I believed serve as modifying elements in that regard,

but due to the ratio of cumin to those elements, they were overwhelmed

by the cumin.

used to cook beans and lentils with salt and turmeric, as taught to me by my mother. I still do sometimes, out of habit! Generally these days though, I tend to boil whole lentils/beans/chickpeas without salt. What I then do, if I have to use an onion/tomato type of masala for it, is add it after it has softened. Then give the whole thing one more quick pressure. This works well. But there are time when I open the cooker and find that it could do with a little more time under pressure, just like you would when you are cooking in an oven. I don't think anyone can say exact time it will take to cook an ingredient, too many variables!

There are times when I add everything including salt in the same pot all together, no frying involved, and cook under pressure. They come out fine. Chickpeas/kidney beans take longer than the whole lentils like Masoor (puy lentil). Soaking tough beans/lentils also reduces cooking time.

Bear in mind that pressure cookers vary in their cooking times, just like ovens, the lentils/beans vary in their varieties and age, some coking faster than others. So no recipe can be 100% accurate.

Experimenting is the best way to learn. You will get more confident as you use your pressure cooker more.