This quick version of risotto in a pressure cooker is a boon for a week or weekend dinner, especially when you have surprise guests. Traditional risotto is a labor of love (much like making biryani from scratch) and I actually find standing by the stove and stirring quite enjoyable and relaxing but sometimes you just have to cut corners.
On Saturday evening my husband told me that two of his friends would be coming for dinner. He told me at the last minute but I was not surprised because we entertain guests quite often and our friends know that they are welcome to come over whenever they want. I had prepped some vegetables and thawed some chicken to cook on Sunday for our week day lunches but now I decided to use them for dinner instead. I planned to make chicken parmesan and risotto from the prepped vegetables. To save some time and multi task I cooked risotto in a pressure cooker. This is my second time making risotto in a pressure cooker and trust me, the taste and flavors are awesome. I find that risotto made this way comes out super creamy without adding any cheese or butter. Well, you can certainly add cheese or butter for flavor if you like but I didn’t because I was already using so much cheese in the chicken.
To this pressure cooked risotto I added roasted butternut squash and methi/ fenugreek leaves. The duo taste really good in this. Fenugreek isn’t the most common herb/spice used in western dishes but I would encourage you to experiment with this fragrant and bitter sweet herb. I have many recipes on this blog using methi and it is not a difficult herb to find in the market.
I know roasting the vegetables add extra time and effort to this dish but I think it’s absolutely worth it, flavor-wise for a special dinner (when you are already using oven for another purpose). While preheating oven you can cut squash and when it is getting roasted in the oven you can make risotto in a pressure cooker and do some other things.
The basic recipe for pressure cooker risotto involves a ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Once you close the lid and bring it up to pressure, cook for 5 minutes (cooking timing would slightly vary with different pressure cookers) on low medium heat. I love my old style Hawkins pressure cooker and have been using it for last 26 years. You can read Hip pressure cooking’s post for using western style pressure cooker. She has covered this topic in detail with a video and has few pressure cooker risotto recipes. I let my pressure cooker cools down on its own, for foamy and starchy foods. It doesn’t take more than 15 minutes if it is placed in a cool place like sink. If done right, the pressure cooker risotto comes very close to the texture of traditional risotto. You just have to use a little extra liquid and be sure not to overcook it.
This creamy, and delicious squash risotto is perfect for dinner parties or as a classy comfort meal at home. Enjoy!
Before we come to the recipe, I’d like to remind you that you can follow me by subscribing to my blog via email so that all my new blog posts go directly to your inbox. Also, you can catch me on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thank you guys, enjoy!
Creamy, no stir pressure cooker risotto with roasted squash and fenugreek leaves
Ingredients
- 2 cups Arborio rice
- 5-6 cups vegetable broth
- 2 bunches methi/fenugreek, leaves picked (about 6 cups)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" chunks (6 cups)
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
- Salt and red chili powder to taste
- 1/3 cup pine nuts
- 6 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Before you make the risotto, heat oven to 450F.
- Line a large baking sheet with tinfoil or parchment paper. Toss the butternut chunks with 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tbsp. (dark) balsamic vinegar, salt and red chili powder on your lined baking sheet. Arrange the butternut in a single layer.
- Roast in a preheated oven until butternut is just tender and brown on the edges, tossing halfway (it will be done in 20 minutes).
- While the butternut is roasting, prepare methi and risotto.
- In a 6-7 l pressure cooker (I am using old style Hawkins pressure cooker), heat 1 tbsp. olive oil.
- Add methi cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes, or until most of the moisture is gone. Remove methi from cooker, set aside.
- Add remaining olive oil and heat. Add onion, sauté until soften and fragrant.
- Add in minced garlic, cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add rice into the onions, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until shiny and the edges of the grain start to look transparent..
- Pour in the wine and simmer until totally evaporated.
- Add 4.5 cups of vegetable broth. Season well with salt and pepper.
- Secure the lid on your pressure cooker, and bring up to high pressure using high heat.
- Start the 5 minute timer, reduce heat to low to stabilize pressure.
- After 5 minutes take the cooker off the heat and place it in the sink. Let the cooker cool naturally.
- While the cooker is cooling, heat a skillet over medium heat. Dry roast pine nuts until golden and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Once the pressure has subsided, open lid.
- If needed, add up to 1 cup additional (hot) broth to loosen texture of risotto, or sauté for a bit if the risotto is too wet.
- Gently fold in roasted squash and half of methi, Taste for seasoning.
- Serve risotto right away in individual servings topped with half of the reserved methi and pine nuts. Enjoy!
Notes
1. In pressure cooker cooking, " the cooking time" is counted when the pressure cooker has reached full pressure, then the heat is turned down to medium or low to maintain the pressure at correct level.
2.Its best to let the cooker cools down on its own, for foamy and starchy foods. It can take between 10 and 20 minutes, depending entirely on the type of pressure cooker and the amount of food in it. Electric pressure cookers or high amounts of food need more time to release the steam.
3. 2 bunches of fresh methi will cook down to about 1/3 cup of cooked methi.
Linking this post to CookBlogShare, RecipeoftheWeek.
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Fenugreek in risotto…what a creative combo of flavour! It looks utterly delicious with roasted squashes.
Corina Blum
It sounds delicious! I really want to get a pressure cooker soon as there are so many tempting recipes around for them at the moment. It’s definitely useful when you have last minute guests.
cheri
Oh this risotto looks very special, love that you added fenugreek. I would have panicked at a last minute dinner but sounds like you did amazing, good for you!
pankti
sounds delicious.. adding methi is such a delightful idea..
Emma - Bake Then Eat
I am really tempted to get a pressure cooker as there seem to be so many new and exciting recipes coming up on the internet at the moment. Your risotto looks fantastic 😀
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
Oooh – I like the idea of cooking risotto in a pressure cooker – sounds very easy peasy! And love the flavours you have used in this one. Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
Blackswan
I’ve yet to own a pressure cooker. Bet it’s very handy to have one.