Cooking For Engineers

[Jim Cooley]

So I cook pulses in a pressure cooker, never more than half-full.

Yet some (Channa Dal, in particular) seem to foam and make a mess and clog the regulator.

I've tried adding 1 TBS of cooking oil, to no success.

Any ideas?

[Dilbert]

some wild guesses . . .

for foam, you need "surface tension" - so anything that would reduce surface tension should help.

soap comes to mind but,,, mebbe not.

dimethyl silicone is advertised by some anti acid OTC product - darn if the brand name comes to mind....

shot of wine? the alcohol would stay in the pressure cooker...

[yocona]

Have you tried rinsing them in cold water before putting them in the pressure cooker?

[Jim Cooley]

They get a soak for 24 hours, then a clean rinse before I cook them.

Simethicone cames to mind to me too; maybe I'll check out what the drug store has to offer.

Might try adding more oil, too. I'm still open to suggestions.

Thanks!

[yocona]

You can also try adding asafoetida when you cook them. That might help.

[Jim Cooley]

LOL, well, not when I'm using them to make huumus.
Kadala curry, okay, but not huumus!

[yocona]