Pressure Cooker Buying Guide Sri Lanka: Size, Lid and Safety Explained

This pressure cooker buying guide is for Sri Lankan families choosing a first cooker or replacing a tired one. It explains which size to buy, how the lid and safety parts work, aluminium against stainless steel, and how to keep the gasket and valve in good order. For what each size costs today, see our pressure cooker price guide.

How do you choose a pressure cooker in Sri Lanka?

Answer five questions before you look at prices and the choice usually makes itself.

• How many people do you cook for on a normal day? This sets the size.
• What do you cook most? Rice and dhal foam up and need more headroom than meat curry.
• What do you cook on? Gas, an infrared cooker or induction changes which metal works.
• Which lid style do you find easier? Outer lid or inner lid.
• Which safety parts does it have? And can you get a spare gasket later?

What size pressure cooker do you need?

Buy for the meal you cook every week, not the biggest meal you cook once a year. A cooker that is too large takes longer to come up to pressure for a small pot of dhal and uses more gas.

Remember that you never fill a cooker to the brim. As a rule, fill it no more than two thirds full, and only half full for rice, dhal and pulses, which froth as they cook. So a 5 litre cooker holds about 3 litres of food, which is a comfortable family pot.

Outer lid or inner lid: which is easier?

An outer lid sits on top of the rim and turns to lock, the way most Sri Lankan cooks learned on. It is quick to put on and easy to clean. The GreenChef Namo 3L uses an outer lid.

An inner lid goes inside the opening and is pushed up against the rim by the pressure itself, so it cannot be lifted off while the cooker is under pressure. It takes a little practice to angle in. Neither style cooks better; pick the one you are comfortable using every day.

Aluminium or stainless steel?

Every GreenChef cooker in the table above is aluminium. Aluminium is light, heats quickly and evenly, and costs less, which is why it is the everyday choice in Sri Lankan kitchens. Move sour curries such as fish ambul thiyal into another dish rather than storing them in the cooker overnight.

Stainless steel costs more and is the choice if you cook on an induction hob, which aluminium does not work on. If you cook on electricity without induction, an infrared cooktop such as the GreenChef Jawa Pro works with aluminium pots as well as steel and clay. Our hard anodised vs stainless steel guide goes deeper on materials.

Which pressure cooker safety features matter?

A pressure cooker is safe when its pressure has more than one way out. Look for these parts on the box or product page:

• Weight valve (regulator): sits on the vent pipe, holds the cooking pressure and lets steam out with the familiar whistle.
• Metallic safety plug or fusible valve: a backup that releases steam if the vent gets blocked and pressure keeps rising.
• Gasket release system: a last backup that lets the gasket vent through a slot in the lid if both of the above fail.
• Stay-cool handles that lock firmly: so you can move a full cooker safely.

The Namo 5L has a precision weight valve, a gasket release system, a metallic safety plug and a fusible safety valve. The Evok 7.5L adds an anti-implosion lid and an extra handle for lifting a full pot.

What should you check before you buy?

• A warranty card and an invoice from an authorised seller. Green Life is the authorised GreenChef agent for Sri Lanka.
• That the cooker sits steady on your burner and pan support; a large cooker needs a stable stove.
• That the handle screws are tight and the lid turns and locks smoothly.
• That a spare gasket and safety plug are easy to get, since both wear with use.

How do you look after the gasket and valve?

Most pressure cooker problems start with a dirty vent or a tired gasket, not a faulty cooker. After each use, take the gasket out, wash it and the lid groove, and check that you can see light through the vent pipe.

Replace the gasket when it feels hard, has cracks, or when steam escapes round the rim instead of through the whistle. Never force the lid open: wait until the pressure has dropped and the valve is quiet. For whistle counts by dish, use our pressure cooker cooking times chart.