Skip to main content

Instant Pot

* This post doesn't include any paid promotion

"Instant Pot" - It has become a household name and per survey, 1 in 3 houses in North America have an Instant Pot in their kitchens.

Robert Wang along with his colleagues from Nortel, Canada designed Instant Pot in 2009. Since it was introduced in the market, varied models have been released and it combines multiple functions of pressure cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, steamer, food warmer, saute pan into one appliance, making it versatile. Few models include options for baking, air frying, sous vide. 

Though I came across this appliance when I was in the US, I didn't really find the necessity to buy one. I use pressure cookers and rice cooker for my cooking needs. Recently, I wanted to upgrade to a 5litres pressure cooker and then thought why not give Instant Pot a try, to check if it is worth all the hype.

During last week's black friday sale, I found Instant Pot Duo Gourmet (6 quart) at Costco for a special price of $79.99 (Canadian Dollars) + tax. It seemed to be a good deal since it is a Costco exclusive model - so, I can be rest assured of its quality. This model has a detachable power cord (which isn't the case with other models). I can put the cord inside when not it use. 

Few models I checked comes with one or 2 of the below accessories, but Duo Gourmet has all of them.

  • Additional silicone ring
  • Rice paddle
  • Soup spoon
  • Mini mitts
  • Measuring cup
  • Steam rack
It has the following functions available. 

  • Pressure Cooking:
    • Pressure Cook
    • Soup/Broth
    • Meat
    • Stew
    • Sterilize
    • Rice
    • Brown Rice
    • Oatmeal
    • Bean
    • Chili
  • Non-Pressure Cooking:
    • Slow Cook
    • Sauté
    • Yogurt
    • Sous Vide
    • Keep Warm
 




It's been couple of days since I started using the appliance and have tried sauté, pressure cook, brown rice options to prepare dalia sweet pongal and brown rice, so far. 

Cooking process isn't instant as the name sounds. When compared to cooking in pressure cooker and rice cooker, the cooking time is reduced by half. But we have to consider the time taken for pressure build up and pressure release before and after cooking, respectively. Also, I had to try different rice-water ratio, cooking modes and time to cook, to achieve the desired texture of brown rice. But cooking with instant pot is hassle free. Otherwise I had to keep count of whistles, clean spills on the kitchen counter. Not to mention, sweet pongal turned out to be delicious, sealing in the aroma intact 😊

I am definitely not going to return my instant pot and shall publish my review after trying different dishes in it. Until then happy cooking everyone of you!!!

You are welcome to share your experiences with Instant Pot, in comments section or over an email.

Follow me on my Youtube handle to get notified about my latest articles!!

Labels:

Comments

  1. suryaDecember 2, 2021 at 9:56 AM

    Great, sounds cool, it must be handy as we can prepare various dishes using it, heard air frying feature is top-notch in these appliances with that, can fry food with much less oil, must be healthier option 👍😀

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ManuDecember 2, 2021 at 10:42 AM

      Yeah.... U can enjoy fried items guilt free 😁

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Anex Monkey Smart Watch

Hello Readers,  Welcome back. While browsing through a weekly flyer by Canadian Tire, my eyes got hold of a smart watch, primarily for its name - Monkey Smart Watch. It's original price was $89.99. On account of Father's Day, the price was slashed 70% and offered for just $24.99 (from June 9th to June 16th).  As it was listed on Canadian Tire website, I thought the product should be genuine and googled to know more about the product. But there weren't sufficient reviews online. So I decided to try it myself and booked it online. This smart watch was launched in the last quarter of 2021 as Anex Monkey Smart Watch. Last year, it had been sold for just $19.99 as part of Black Friday deal. Even after 5 days of waiting, Canadian Tire didn't process my order. On the other hand, the stock was vanishing real quick and only 80 watches were available in our near by store. When checked with their customer service executive, I was told to cancel my online order or wait until they p...
32 comments
Read more

Gearing up for First day of School

The day you first held your little one, the first time he smiled at you, those first steps, first tears, first words, first bike ride... You would have experienced countless firsts with your child so far. Before you knew it, your kid is just few days away from a very important milestone - his first day of school.  If your kid is starting kindergarten this academic year, I totally feel you. I was in the same state of mind, exactly an year ago. After tending to my son for more than 3 years, that too as a stay at home mom, he is very attached to me. I was with him literally 24 x 7, except for those very few minutes I sneak into the washroom. The thought of how he would survive those 7 hours of school without me, haunted me for days. Next his preparedness to face the whole new world (without us) was dreadful. I had infinite questions/ doubts in my head. It is quite natural if you have an endless loop going on in your head. In this post, I sum up my experience of preparing my child and ...
8 comments
Read more

Recipe: Idiyappam | Sevai | String Hoppers

Idiyappam, is a well known break fast item in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Sri Lanka. It is also known as sevai or string hoppers (in English) and is primarily made out of rice floor. Like idli, idiyappam is made through steaming using no oil, making it very easily digestible and light on stomach.  When I think about idiyappam, I remember 2 instances from my childhood. One of my friend's mom, used to feed her 2 year old with different colourful sevais for evening snack - white, yellow, red along with a liquid version of it too, almost 3-4 times in a week. Later I learnt from her elder daughter (my friend) that they are coconut sevai (sweet version), lemon sevai, tomato sevai and rasam sevai. Though born and brought up in Chennai, we aren't much into idiyappams.  I don't remember eating them until I crossed 10 years. Whenever we visit a doctor with fever, our doctor used to give a list of food items - kanji, bread, idli, idiyappam and rasam rice, which I was usually averse to even...
9 comments
Read more

Dil Bekaraar - Enjoyable Family Drama

Dil Bekaraar, is a comedy family drama series, released this November on Disney+ Hotstar. The trailer which appeared to be set up in 1980s background was compelling. It is the adoption of novel "Those Pricey Thakur Girls" written by Anuja Chauhan. These two reasons were convincing enough for me to watch the series.                                                      (Photo credit: Disney+ Hotstar) Directed by Habib Faisal, the story revolves around the family of retired Justice LN Thakur and his five daughters, based at New Delhi and love story between the protagonists.  The cast includes Raj Babbar (LN Thakur), Poonam Dhillon (Mamta, LN Thakur's wife), Akshay Oberoi (Dylan Singh Shekhawat, protagonist), Sahher Bambha (Debjani aka Dabbu - one of Thakur's daughter and Dylan's love interest), Padmini Kolhapure (Thakur's brother's ...
6 comments
Read more

Book: Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi

One day, I was browsing through the calendar of events on our neighborhood library's website and found this title. It was chosen for January month's read by "Around the World" book club. This book club reads a book every month that relates to different countries; like they may be set there, have characters from there, reflect the local culture or written by authors from that country. I found the synopsis intriguing. Neither the book was available at the library nor I could get a soft copy. After a wait of more than 2 months, I got the hard bound copy from the library.  Homegoing , is a historical fiction novel, written by Yaa Gyasi. It is her debut novel, published in 2016 and has won her several awards like National Book Critics Circle's John Leonard Award for best first book, PEN/ Hemingway Award for a first book of fiction etc.  Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana. Her family migrated to America when she was around 10 years and subsequently raised in Alabama. Homegoing...
3 comments
Read more