PRESSURE COOKER TIMING FOR NIGERIAN FOODS

pressure cooker
how to time nigerian foods cooked in a pressure cooker
 My easy to use pressure cooker.

Pressure cookers have made the cooking of cow leg, cow tail and stock fish so much fun. So much time is saved unlike when we used to boil cow leg the previous day in preparation for cooking .

With  a pressure cooker, you cannot check or taste to see if cooking is done. Before you
cook portor-portor beans, it’s best to know the correct timing .

Even food as tough as cow leg can turn into pudding or correct mud if not properly timed.

 

MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH PRESSURE COOKERS

The first time I used a pressure cooker, should have taken pictures to show how my beans porridge turned into drinking garri kind of. Sha, One thing I liked about that beans though was that mere looking won’t reveal it’s over cooked. The bean seeds still looked intact, unbroken and beautiful but don’t be deceived, nothing to chew.

Once a spoon touches to scoop, all the round looking seeds just crumble like melting ice. Some liked it though but me? No, I like soft beans o, not portor portor. Let me at least chew a little before swallowing after all it’s not like I’m drinking tea. Here is how I quick cook my beans in a pressure cooker

TIMING NIGERIAN FOOD IN PRESSURE COOKERS ALSO DEPENDS ON THE STRENGTH OF THE BURNERS (STOVE)  SOME ARE  HOTTER THAN OTHERS

One unique thing about cooking with a pressure cooker is, the burners also determine how long it takes. My burners are old school, small and don’t really fire up noisily like your type of cooker.

When I cook with newer brand cookers or one with large burners, timing is reduced. The timing I’m sharing here is based on how I cook with my kpako white cooker you all know.

Bear in mind that pressure cookers cook food in about one third of the time for conventional cooking.
Except for stock fish, cow head, cow tail, and maybe tough beef, other Nigerian foods do not really take time to cook,so, when you use,a pressure cooker and cooking time is divided by three.

IMPORTANCE OF USING A PRESSURE COOKER IN THE KITCHEN

You see that cooking becomes much more fun, as,you use,that time for other profitable things. In this time and age, no one has any excuse for spending long hours in the kitchen cooking what?

I don’t,know how others do it but my timing starts when the pressure cooker begins to whistle. Below is the correct timing when you chose a pressure,cooker:

NIGERIAN FOOD:           TIMING:
Beans.                                 15 minutes
Cow head.                          20 minutes
Cow tail.                             20 minutes
Cow leg.                              20 minutes
Stock fish.                           15 minutes
Yam.                                     9 minutes
Unrepentant plantain.     10 minutes
Corn.                                    20 minutes
Rice                                      12 minutes

NOTE : when pressure cooking, your water level should be very low especially for yam and rice. A rice cooker should even take care of rice but if you just want quick pressure cooking, then reduce the water level.

The two most important parts of a pressure cooker for me are the pressure regulator and the gasket. Never  lose them else your pressure cooker becomes as slow cooking as any other pot,

When I cook porridge, there is no way one can open during cooking to add ingredients so, I put everything in the pot, I mean everything but locking and placing on the cooker. The first time I cooked beans porridge in a pressure cooker, I was worried it might not turn out tasty but wrong, it turned out great.

If I want to, I can pressure cook even egusi soup and Ogbono soups but not vegetable soup anyways. I cooked beans and corn meal and cooking was really quick and easy.

PRESSURE COOKER BRANDS TOO ARE DIFFERENT SOME ARE HOTTER AND COOK FASTER THAN OTHERS

Anyway, these days cooking beans corn meal is easy with sweet corn being sold in stores all year round.
How fast you cook may also depend on what type of Pressure cooker you have

TIPS FOR COOKING WITH A PRESSURE COOKER:

Never fill the pressure cooker more than half with liquid.
Don’t try to force open the lid when pressure is still in there. Wait for it to cool or place hot point under the tap and let cold water run over it.

Once you raise the valve or hit a little without hearing any more whistling sound, then it’s ok to open the pot. Anyway, the way pressure cookers are made these days, once it clicks, nothing can open that lid until pressure has escaped.If you are too scared to use  pressure cookers,then you  cheat yourself because those accidents you imagine don’t happen with newer brands.

Until you understand your pressure cooker, always cook for 1/3 normal cooking time and check for doneness.

If after checking you are not satisfied, it can be clicked again and placed on heat for a few more minutes. Alternatively, you use the normal conventional lid or another pot to complete cooking until you are satisfied.
Cooking with a pressure cooker saves you a lot of time.

 

WE WOULD LOVE YOU TO TRY THESE TOO:
  1. RECIPE FOR COW LEG WHITE SOUP
  2. MINCED MEAT AND COW TAIL GRAVY
  3. HOW TO COOK GOOD BEANS PORRIDGE
  4. HOW TO COOK COW TAIL PEPPER SOUP IN A PRESSURE COOKER
  5. 50 NIGERIAN KITCHEN TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE HOME

12 thoughts on “PRESSURE COOKER TIMING FOR NIGERIAN FOODS”

  1. Thank you for this post oooh. Infact i abandoned my pressure cooker bcos i didnt really know how to time it. So i would normally be putting off the light allow it to cool bfor checking if the beans was done and after checking i will struggle to cover it again to continue cooking, mehn! It was frustrating i had to stop using it. But i discovered my beans was taking upto 1hr to cook, i just had to stop using it abeg

    Reply
  2. The best thing about the pressure cooker for me is to run it under cold water in the sink then open it up after the whizzing sound stops. This allows me to taste for seasoning, salt or pepper and add anything else that needs to go in.
    Aunty Eya I didnt know one csn cook rice or yam in a pressure cooker. Rice and yam cook pretty quick in a regular pot so I dont think I will try using s pressure cooker.

    Reply
  3. I have been using pressure pot fr over a decade. Dont know what brand you use, but beans can never be fully done in 15 mins. 25 to 30 mins is required for beans to cook well

    Reply
  4. Hi Eya
    I happened to see the blog on cow leg and requests for advice on cooking tough meat quicker. Most of the advises given was good, but I normally use bicarbonate soda (just a tip of the teaspoon- too much makes the food taste funny) after I slow cook the meat in its own juices. So yes Bicarbonate soda is good and less cooking time for those without pressure coolers.

    Reply
  5. 15 minutes is perfect . I have done this for years . Remember it's 15 minutes from the first whistling not when you cover the pot .

    Reply
  6. I turn off the burner 5minutes after my pressure whistle and it’s always been perfect timing for me. I have used Daichi and Binatone, and the timing is same for both.

    Reply

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