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I would like to try recipes from Urvashi Pitre's Indian Instant Pot Cookbook: Traditional Indian Dishes Made Easy and Fast. However, buying the original Instant Pot pressure cooker does not seem to be straightforward or convenient for customers in Europe (outside Britain).

Has anybody tried these recipes with a pressure cooker that is more readily available in Europe (Germany)? I'm still used to old-fashioned models without any electronic controls, so I am wondering what could be a good alternative option to acquire.

UPDATE Here is a sample recipe from the book (linked from this article in The New Yorker).

Drux
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  • Do you already have the book? A sample recipe might help us work out the difference between cooking using the instant pot and using a normal pressure cooker. It shouldn't be hard to adapt. Failing that, I'm sure there are other, more generic, Indian recipe books for pressure cookers. – Chris H Jan 16 '18 at 17:33
  • @ChrisH I've added a link to a sample recipe. – Drux Jan 16 '18 at 17:38
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    Look for products described as programmable pressure cooker – paparazzo Jan 16 '18 at 18:16
  • I think amazon UK has a selection of Hawkins cookers? – rackandboneman Jan 16 '18 at 19:29
  • I'm not an expert in pressure cooking, not by a long way, but there's nothing special about that recipe that couldn't be adapted by someone who is. – Chris H Jan 16 '18 at 19:49
  • @ChrisH This OP also is not such an expert. – Drux Jan 16 '18 at 20:14
  • No, but with the information you've added, the question is now answerable by one – Chris H Jan 16 '18 at 21:57

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I don't see anything "special" about that recipe that depends on the particular pressure cooker. I don't think you need anything fancier than an old-fashioned pressure cooker and a timer, assuming you know how to use an old-fashioned pressure cooker. If you already own one, why buy another?

Figure time on "high" to be time on 15 PSI (or 1 bar) steam, and cook away.

A brief glance at the link shows a thing that seeks to be everything (pressure cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, really should have Ron Popeil do ads for it on late night TV...) some of which would be more difficult in a regular pressure cooker, though (for instance) we had a spot on the stove over a pilot light that could make any pot into a yogurt-maker if you set it there full of milk and culture. And you can certainly make rice in a pressure cooker under pressure, rather than trying to mimic a "rice cooker" at atmospheric pressure.

Ecnerwal
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  • +1 I do not yet own a pressure cooker but know how to use old-fashioned models from way back. I will probably acquire such a model, because I don't like (am not yet used to) the idea of a pot that sits on the stove *and* requires a power cable. A [WMF Perfect Pro](https://www.wmf.com/en/pots-pans/pressure-cookers-1/single-pots/pressure-cooker-3-0l-perfect-pro-0796219990.html) may be a good quality choice. – Drux Jan 17 '18 at 04:11
  • The specialty about indian pressure cooked recipes is that they measure time by whistles not by wall time ..... – rackandboneman Jan 17 '18 at 10:16
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    @Drux, _pot that sits on the stove and requires a power cable_ I think most people place it on their counter. – Shannon Severance Jan 17 '18 at 16:17
  • @ShannonSeverance Thx for that clarification. – Drux Jan 17 '18 at 20:59