Boiled Eggs in an Instant Pot - Easy to Peel!

Boiled Eggs you say? The easiest thing in the world and why write a post about it? But here is the problem, whenever eggs are cooked in a sauce pan, the peeling of the eggs are a pain. I bet most of you have had this problem. Cook for 8 minutes exactly, cook and then pour cold water, immerse in the ice bath, none of them instructions worked. I mean the eggs were cooked alright but when I peel them, half the cooked egg ended up in the compost pile. I could never peel them without nicks and bruises!

DD2 loves boiled eggs and while that is the easiest thing to do but... I have also heard that fresh eggs have problems while peeling the shells but we have chickens which means fresh eggs are all we've got :)

Anyway this is until I started using the Instant Pot. It took a while to start using the Instant Pot for boiling eggs but once I started and figured it was perhaps the easiest method to deal with those pesky egg shells.

If you do not have an Instant a pressure cooker works just fine, cook for one whistle.

Take the eggs in an Instant Pot and set it to either Egg setting (5 minutes) or Manual 8 minutes depending on if you want soft or hard boiled eggs.
Once cooked cool the eggs by adding cold water.
Peel the eggs as easy as peeling a clementine :)
Peel the eggs as easy as peeling a clementine :)

See how easy that was?

Boiled Eggs in an Instant Pot
Cooking Time: 8 minutes
How to do it?

1. Take the eggs in the Instant Pot with enough water.
2. Turn on the Egg setting which is 5 minutes for soft boiled eggs and Manual 8 minutes for hard boiled eggs. Turn off when done.
3. Let the pressure release normally.
4. Add some cold water to the pot and once the eggs are warm to the touch you can start peeling the eggs.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

How to clean burnt stainless steel pans (burned and charred food and all)

I had cooked in non stick pans for the longest time just so that it is easy to clean afterwards. I didn't have to fight with my stainless steel pans after I have finished sauteing, roasting or even making pancakes. After the first batch of pancakes are done and however careful you are with the flame the oil tends to burn and stick to the pan and by the end of 6-7 batches there is a layer of either brown or black stuff at the bottom of the pan. The same thing happens if you use a stainless pan to saute like a stir fry or need to roast something for longer. Even if you control the heat and watch and saute constantly stuff still sticks and gets burned.

Scrubbing this out is a chore in itself and not something anyone wants to do. I found this quick and easy way of cleaning and I am no longer worried about using elbow grease to clean the pan. Now I do the cleaning by spending a few minutes right after the cooking which makes it easier and quicker.

After you have used the pan for cooking, keep the burner on and add about 1/2 - 1 cup of water and a tsp of baking soda or just heat the water. Let the water come to a boil.
Turn off the heat and pour the water out. Use caution and use a kitchen towel since the pan would be still hot. Use a scrub or steel wool or coconut fibers like it is done in India and gently scrub out the burnt and darkened spots on the pan. It will come off easily.
Rinse out the dirt and the pan is good as new.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Hand pounded Sona Masuri Rice

Back in my grandparents' house the rice that was cooked regularly was always hand pounded rice. The color was not pearly white like the polished rice but slightly off-white in color but not exactly brown.

So what is the difference between brown rice and hand pounded rice? Brown rice retains all of the bran and germ while only the husk is removed from either the raw or par boiled rice. Hand pounded rice on the other hand uses a stone pounder in a mortar to remove the husk and some of the bran to give a minimally polished rice. White rice is processed to remove all of the husk, and bran depleting the rice of fiber making it full of starch.

I chanced upon hand pounded raw sona masuri rice in my local Indian grocery rice. I bought it to give it a try and have been buying it ever since. Purely for nutrition purposes brown rice might be better compared to hand pounded rice. Finding brown sona masuri rice or ponni rice is not easy. I actually prefer the hand pounded rice over brown rice.

Cook it the same way you would rice. It does not turn to mush that easily and can be used for whatever recipe you would use white rice.

Cooking hand pounded rice

1. Wash the rice in several changes of water till it runs clear.
2. Soak the rice for about 20-30 minutes.
3. In a pressure cooker, add the rice along with the required amount of rice and cook for 2-3 whistles.
4. I use 2 - 2 1/2 cups of water for 1 cup of rice. The longer you soak the rice, the lesser water you should for cooking.
5. You can cook the rice on stove top as well.
   

Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

How to peel and cut Acorn Squash?

I first met Acorn Squash at a party some 17 odd years ago when we had gone for a house warming party. The food was delicious and the one thing I specifically remember was this stir fry which to me tasted like the Indian orange pumpkin (parangikai). While leaving after complementing the hostess on the fantastic food I asked her about the stir fry and what vegetable it was. First of all it was brilliant to serve a stir fry made of Acorn Squash. Come to think of it after that I have never encountered Acorn Squash in a large gathering and neither have I attempted to serve it. Shame on me.

The toughest part about cooking acorn squash is cutting it. With its ridges it is hard to cut and peel the skin. The friend on the other hand did not peel the squash, instead she said she puts it in a bag and whacks it a couple of time till it breaks apart and then roughly chops them. I did not try whacking the squash but tried to cut it and gave up and moved on to butternut squash.

The thing with butternut squash is whatever level of ripeness when cooked the flesh becomes tender and smooth. With acorn squash on the other hand the squash has to be fully ripe for it to smooth and creamy. So look for one which has slightly orange spots on it. I got hooked on to this tasty squash again when we were offered a taste of some roasted acorn squash in the grocery store a few weeks ago. I could not believe I had completely abandoned this tasty squash.

So here we are,
The first hurdle is the cutting problem which I will try to solve here today. The second is the recipe. It is fantastic roasted with whatever spices you'd like, in soups or the Indian way as a stir fry with just onions and red chilies just like this recipe using butternut squash or in a sambhar. The natural sweetness of the squash makes anything it touches delicious.

A sturdy knife and a cutting board will help make the process a breeze. I usually wash the squash outside (also cantaloupe, water melon or anything that gets on the cutting board) and pat dry before placing on the cutting board and starting to cut it. This way I can use the cutting to cut other vegetables without worrying about what got on the board from the outside of the squash.

Steps to cut an Acorn Squash,

Using the natural ridge of the Acorn squash cut along the ridge engthwise on one side, turn and do the same on the other side. Once both sides have been cut along the edges it should be easily to split in half.
Using a spoon scoop out the seeds, wash them and spread them in a plate to dry for roasting later.
Using the ridges to guide you cut lengthwise.
Once the squash is cut into ridge it is easy to peel the skin with the peeler.
Now that the squash is peeled chop them into desired sizes and use them in any recipe.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe!