Instapot Airfryer Attachment Anyone?

@shravs3 Check the pics for Air fried bendakaya (prior to giving a tadka) and the final one after giving a tadka.

 

Thanks for the pictures. You do cook a lot of variety of things!!

Getting the family to accept the new taste of the differently sequenced procedure in a recipe/dish is the big challenge, isn't it ?

This bendakkaya would usually start with the tadka in a skillet, and the cut vegetable that is raw has to go into it, followed by additions of turmeric, chili powders and salt at that stage (raw veggie). The oil, turmeric, chili, salt all have to evolve/transform with the vegetable into the final form. If the vegetable is cooked elsewhere without the spices, and the spices come in much later, the taste will be different. The cooking method might also change the "looks". Family has to go through some new taste-training. Something similar to what @Rihana had observed with her experimental subjects using fried foods.

In making spiced foods, one has to "fix" the spice components as strongly as possible into the food that goes into an airfryer. Some recipes would call for placing an oil coated grill or screen on top of the food as well; so that it doesn't fly around and get smacked with other pieces or on the wall.

I stick garlic (peeled cloves) onto a steak with tooth picks. And then put the meat on the wirebasket of the airfryer. Chicken can be slit-slotted, and fish can be fork-poked to get some powdered marinades in them. After that, these have to "rest", so that there is no loose powder, that can fly about, come out via the exhaust and so on. Airfryer also has to find room to sit under the kitchen's exhaust hood in such cookings. For that we have to buy a range-top-cover. All of this effort might put a huge stress on family members, when they had to struggle to find appropriately good expressions of appreciation for all this.

 

Rihana and I, neither are fit to sell Airfryers on a commission only basis, although we both have them .

 

Amulet here’s what I do. I mix the chopped bendi with little oil and salt, air fry or bake them to half cook them (I do that so they don’t turn mushy when fried with onions plus it takes less oil).
while the bendakaya is being air fried or baked I can focus on other chores. I then heat little oil in an iron skillet (just enough for the tadka), I add cumin, mustard seeds. After they splutter I add chopped onions, curry leaves, green chillies, garlic and fry. I then add turmeric,bendakaya and toss for a while. I add little salt, chilli powder, little water (water helps the veggies to absorb all the flavors) and I keep tossing on a slow flame till all the moisture evaporates and the flavor is evenly distributed. You really cannot make out the difference.

 

Thanks. I will try that the next time when I get okra.

For the girls who are designing their cooking efforts around minimizing Time, as well the number of dishes to wash, this semi-cook scheme would be good for things that take much fry-pan time to cook.

I use the arifryer to peel the skin of eggplants -- enroute to baingan_bhartha. And peel bell peppers when the recipe calls for removing the skin by flaming the surface.

And make baked apples for healthy dessert -- this is simply apple pie, without the crust. Core the well-washed apple, brush ghee within the core, and bake. Never tried any Tadka-stirfry recipe using Airfryer as a precooker. I think this is mostly due to dishwashing optimizing mindset.

Here is an old pre-Airfryer era recipe for BainganBhartha. In modern kitchens we can use Airfryer to cook-peel the Baingan, and use the Rice-cooker (or Instant pot) for the saucepan procedure.