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HomeCookwarePressure CookersHawkins Stainless Steel 2.0 Litre Pressure Cooker |
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|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 11 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 15 found the following review helpful:
 A must have Dec 23, 2007
By M. Kaur
Indian cooking becomes ridiculously easy with a pressure cooker - especially if you are planning on cooking lentils or beans. Not only do you save time, you also retain nutrients which can otherwise be destroyed when exposed to high heat for long periods of time.
Safety is virtually guaranteed with Hawkins' foolproof design - if the lid is not closed properly, the cooker just won't attain full pressure and so won't become dangerous; if there is even a little pressure remaining, the lid just won't be forced open. And if - this happened to me once - you put in too little water by mistake and the cooker boils dry, you are still okay thanks to a safety valve ingeniously placed just under the bar on the lid - so that when it opens up, the heat gets deflected away from you.
I have only used aluminum cookers, but the stainless steel ones are great too - if a little more expensive. Worth it if you want to avoid stains that can sometimes be a problem with aluminum cookers. I have three cookers in 2, 3.5 and 4.5 litre sizes. 2L is ideal if you're living alone and the 3.5 is just right for a two person family. I use the 4.5 when I cook for guests. I will still buy the 5L because it really is the most convenient size for an average family.
My only grouse with buying these cookers online is that you don't get accessories or replacement parts as easily as you can in Indian stores. After I blew out the safety valve in my 2L, I'm waiting for my next trip to India to get the lid fixed. Also, the 5L (and above) sizes become much more useful when you can use them with accessories like inserts - for multilevel cooking inside the cooker (cook two dishes in one go) and steamers - (for rice cakes etc.)
Bottom line - if you are planning on cooking Indian dishes, invest in a pressure cooker. Its versatile enough to cook pulses, vegetables and meats and will last you a lifetime!
9 of 10 found the following review helpful:
Indian whistling pressure cooker is a kitchen champ Aug 19, 2007
By Samantha Lewis
I absolutely love my Hawkins pressure cooker.
The construction is top notch, a well engineered design that has the oval top lid actually under the top lip of the pot, sealing like the door of an airplane. It is impossible to open this cooker while still pressurized, making it a very safe cooker, in addition, as the lid doesn't twist on, like almost all other pressure cooker designs, the gasket isn't subjected to wear and it lasts a lot longer.
The bottom of the pot is a sandwich of stainless steel surrounding a thick aluminium insert for even heat distribution, a must if you're going to be frying before cooking under pressure. Oh yes, and this is one of the famous Indian whistling cookers. Once you get the measure of your cooktop and where to turn the heat down to after full pressure is built, the regular whistle steam release makes a very useful timer. You'll find many recipes from India using this timing method. A very fine cooker indeed, I highly recommend it.
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Use it almost every day Jul 19, 2011
By A Kaysville Reader
It took a little time to get used to using this pressure cooker because my mother made sure to scare the dickens out of me when I was little. Now this is required in my kitchen almost daily since my husband is from India. We used to have all aluminum pressure cookers but I've been worried about aluminum getting in our food so when the old one needed replacing about a year ago I got this one. Sometimes if the lid isn't on exactly right a little steam will leak from the seal (aluminum cookers didn't have this problem) so I reposition the lid and it usually works the second time. It's great for cooking any kind of beans, rice, vegetables, chicken etc. that you would usually have to boil. One or two whistles for most veggies and chicken, twenty minutes or so for beans and dal (lentils). Much faster than boiling!
Great Cooker but get parts. Apr 15, 2012
By Chicago Guy
This is a good pressure cooker. Stainless steel, good design, beautiful cook book and attention to parts. I've been using pressure cookers for 30 years. It started with Macrobiotics and oooking rice and soy bean. You need a pressure cooker for that. It is efficient. You can cook a whole chicken in 50 min. A bachelors delight. It is the best way to cook fish. Ok I like this cooing process.
This is a modern way of cooking but it comes with the price of replacing parts as needed: escape valves, gaskets, pressure caps, etc. It is not just a pot with a lid. If the company goes out of business your cooker is just a boat anchor if you cant get needed parts. The book that comes with this cooker lists the parts for the various model sizes. I bought a 8 liter and a 5 liter. the two use different gaskets and other parts. I was looking at buying a 3 liter but it uses different parts yet. I don't know if I want to have 10 years of parts for each of the 3 models. i'm thinking about it. but do think in terms of getting a supply of parts. Maybe 5-10 gaskets, replacement handles, and escape valves. The lids on both of my models are different. there is some efficiency in being able to interchange lids. I'd get a 4 liter first and look at the parts that all the different sizes use. Aeternum stopped making the best oooker in the world. Emal cookers are gone. ZEB i can't find. I have parts for all. but this is a new vibrant company, for me, that I will cheer for.
if you buy one it wont last for ever. if you buy more than one they will last longer.
1 more thing. What do the parts cost. Some cookers are inexpensive to maintain, such as the Aeternum and this oooker. others are very high. if the common parts you need are complicated and frequently dont work you'll stop using it. the parts for this oooker are relatively cheap. but this is a market that changes rapidly so stock up a little on parts.
 Ok I'm on the fence about this cooker Apr 02, 2012
By Trudy in CT
"Trudy in CT"
mainly because it scares me so bad. This is my first pressure cooker; I do a lot of indian cooking and most of the cooker recipes tend to use a whistle count. So I tried a couple of recipes today: daal (2 whistles), khichdi (1 whistle) and mutton curry (6 whistles). All the recipes came out fantastic the flavors were brilliant and time spent cooking was drastically reduced. BUT the whistling is really loud and frightening. Steam goes blowing out in all directions. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but this is really terrifying especially when you're using the burner right next to the cooker. I was sauteing onions next to the cooker and everytime I stirred the onions the whistle went off. I am really contemplating returning it. I've searched the internet looking for people who are familiar with the whistling cookers that can provide me some clarity but I haven't found anyone. My husband think this is normal but I am still freaked by this.
Positives about the cooker: the stainless steal exterior is beautiful and shiny. The interior is easy to clean. The 5 litre capacity is perfect for 3 lbs of mutton with plenty of room to spare. I like this size and am glad I opted for the 5 litre stainless steel instead of the the 3.5 litre aluminium contura.
See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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