I went to a Subway restaurant recently and I was excited to discover the chain offered falafels on its menu. While it was no doubt heavy processed, it was a welcomed surprise. I love chickpeas and I love falafels. I haven’t been successful in making them – yet. I tried last summer using my Vitamix and making it in the oven. They were a complete crumbling mess. Typically falafels are deep fried.
In searching for recipes to make in my Instant Pot this past week, I came across ONE recipe to make falafels in my pot. I didn’t give it much thought. The photos on the blog were amazing. It had to work, right?
Nope – crumbling mess or should I say in this case … a mushy mess. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Lesson learned.
Pot-in-pot technique
Where to start … this final week of the challenge went without any major hiccups. I made two new recipes. I didn’t try too many new recipes because I am only one person. I don’t like to waste food so I kept to the basics – batch cooking beans and rice. I would also quickly steam some veg if needed to make a meal.
Now that I am more comfortable with my Instant Pot didn’t want to do this challenge without trying the famous ‘pot-in-pot’ technique. I was slightly worried that the pot would explode. Thankfully no such disaster transpired.
Stackable containers 
Mushrooms 
Green beans
Basically the pot-in-pot technique is as just as it sounds. You put an oven-friendly pan, bowl or dish into the pressure cooker on top of a steamer basket or the trivet or a that came with the Instant Pot. The benefit is that you can cook/steam more than one thing at a time. The key is to ensure the the dishes have a similar cooking time.
I went pretty basic with my first attempt. I cooked jasmine rice on the bottom of the liner, and steamed frozen green beans and corn.
I have this stackable metal lunch pail that I bought in India, which I never use. After a bit of a search online, I noticed that many people are using these containers in their instant pot. I was happy that I didn’t have to go out and buy something to try this technique.
Peanut Tofu Curry
I love peanut butter. I love curry. I love tofu. So why not try a spicy peanut tofu curry? I took inspiration from Herbivore Cucina‘s recipe for Peanut Tofu Curry with rice. It’s a simple recipe with everything that you likely have in your kitchen. I turned up the volume on the spice and the recipe turned out perfectly.
It was also an opportunity for me to try another ‘pot-in-pot’ method. Curry on bottom. Rice on top. I don’t know how many times that I have made a nice dish but I forgot to make rice first or I don’t wait until the rice is finished cooking. This time I used an oven-friendly glass bowl for the rice.
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Before -
After -
Silicone gloves
Whew it worked. The glass bowl was crazy hot so I used my silicone glove to remove the bowl. You don’t need to use a cover on the raised dish so I didn’t bother. I was worried that the rice would be undercooked but it tasted fine. Success.
Dal Makhani
I adapted a recipe from Piping Hot Curry. There are tons of recipes online and I chose the one with the least ingredients. It was a little challenging finding the black gram lentils.
You should really try this dish if you are interested in trying something new. It’s warm and comforting especially during these cold winter months. The recipe yielded enough for a couple more lunches. I had some left over avocado so I added it on top. So good.
At the end of 30 days …..
I need to buy a second inner pot. Although I didn’t wash as many dishes as I would had I been using regular pots and pans, I felt like I was ALWAYS washing the liner. Once a week I gave the entire appliance a good cleaning.
I feel completely comfortable using my Instant Pot. I am still learning a few tricks of the trade but I am so glad that I challenged myself to get used to this wonderful kitchen appliance. No doubt the Instant Pot will continue to be the main appliance that I use in my kitchen in addition to my Vitamix.
I love the simplicity of it and the comfort in knowing I can have a basic dish ready to eat in a few minutes. Most of all I love pressure cooking beans! It’s been a life changer. If you haven’t introduced an Instant Pot in your life yet, what are you waiting for?
It’s not the end of my Instant Pot journey. I will continue to experiment and write about it on my blog.
Now excuse me … I am going to attempt to make falafels in the oven.