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

Review: Farzi (Web Series)

Indian web series aren't new to us. Recently, multi-starrer web series, that too combination of performers from North-South film industries is on the raise. Farzi falls into the same category, with Makkal Selvan Vijay Sethupathi foraying into web series along with Bollywood's heartthrob Shahid Kapoor. Farzi (meaning Fake), is an Indian crime thriller web series, from the creators of Family Man series - Raj and DK. It is released in Amazon Prime on 10th Feb 2023, in multiple Indian languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada). Raj and DK have directed and cowritten this series with Sita Menon and Suman Kumar. Apart from Vijay Sethupathi and Shahid Kapoor, the star cast includes Bhuvan Arora, Kay Kay Menon, Raashii Khanna, Zakir Hussain, Amol Palekar, Regina Cassandra etc. Michael Vedanayagam (Vijay Sethupathi) is a fierce task force officer, on a mission to eradicate counterfeit currency mafia in India. He is on look for the Indian counterfeit network head Mansoor Dal...
3 comments
Read more

2025 in Books: Stories That Stayed With Me

2025 - Another year has quietly gone by, and this time I read nine beautiful books. It was a slower reading year for me. An injured right arm meant I couldn’t even carry half a cup of water for a while. For someone who swears by reading a physical copy - who believes books must be held, felt, and turned page by page - shifting to any other format just didn’t feel right. So a reading slump followed. I’m still finding my way back into rhythm, back into the comfort of getting lost in the stories and lingering with characters long after the last page. Here is a quick recap of what I read last year. The School for Good Mothers:  A powerful fictional exploration by Jessamine Chan on modern motherhood and the weight of the societal judgement. It made me sit with uncomfortable questions about what it means to be a “good” mother in a world that watches women closely and rarely forgives their mistakes. You can read the full review in this link . The Fury:  I really enjoyed The...
Post a Comment
Read more

When Dreams Fail, Gratitude Prevails

Recently, I was talking to a friend - let’s call her Smitha. Her husband had a major car accident, and the car was completely destroyed. Along with that, there were legal complications, court cases, penalties - it was a huge mess. When she told me about the accident, my immediate thought was: "You are so blessed. Be thankful. Despite such a major accident, your husband walked away even without a single scratch, and no one else was hurt. That alone is a huge blessing!" Smitha’s husband had been manifesting a Tesla for many years. He had wished for it so deeply, and when the accident happened, she felt upset, thinking all their efforts and plans had gone to waste. They were just starting to get financially settled and had big plans for the future, so this felt like going back to square one. She found herself revisiting old memories - especially the painful ones - and they pulled her down.  These days, the term “manifestation” is everywhere. People talk about visualizing their d...
1 comment
Read more

Book: First They Killed My Father

"First They Killed My Father" was on my To Be Read (TBR) list for sometime. Finally, I read it as part of my book goals for the year 2021. It is a heart wrenching memoir written by Loung Ung, who survived the Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge Regime in Cambodia.  The story starts off with Loung narrating her family and life at Phnom Penh before communists took over Cambodia; their family fleeing Phnom Penh due to Khmer Rouge’s attack; the struggles their family encounters while travelling from one village to the other, concealing their identity for survival; their ordeal working for Khmer Rouge. In the due course, Loung’s father gets killed, her family gets separated with Loung ending up in the Khmer Rouge troop as a child soldier. By the time Cambodia is liberated, Loung also loses her mother, 2 sisters and finally unites with rest of her siblings. The books ends with Loung migrating to the United States along with her elder brother and sister-in-law. It is a very well written book ...
7 comments
Read more