Hawkins Contura Black Pressure Cooker, 5 Litre, Black (CB50)

Excellent for one or two people, I am happy with this item

Recieved today. This is my second one this week. I returned the first one due to seal leakage before reaching FOP. (Made in China, of course!!) I tested this one with water. Took @5minutes to arrive at FOP. But no leakage!!! I’m happy with that alone. I’ve heard some say the lid is confusing them. It did me too! UNTIL I READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!! As I always say, if you can’t figure it out, RTFD!!!!! If you look at the base opening and lid, you will see they are not round….oval shaped ever so slightly!!!! Now you understand the rest of the story! BTW: made in India ….and the cook book recipes are all Indian recipes. But I’m sure the internet is full of all types of recipes for pressure cookers. Good luck everyone. And God Bless!!

I am extremely disappointed with this pressure cooker. The cooker is too thin and food sticks to the surface, making it very difficult to clean, even after soaking. The biggest issue is gas leakage from the lid. When I contacted the seller, they refused to accept a return because the product had been used. But how can we know if it leaks without using it first? This policy is unfair and frustrating. This was a waste of money, and I would not recommend it to anyone. If you are looking for a reliable pressure cooker, I suggest looking elsewhere. Stay away from this one!

Very Good.

I don't review much, for which I apologize, but I took a chance on a 3 liter anodized Hawkins stovetop pressure cooker despite a few worrying reviews and remarks in reviews, and after using this to cook family-of-four sized portions of dried giant white beans, chickpeas and french lentils I wanted to circle back and make a couple of points.The most important is the idea, expressed in a couple of reviews, that it is impossible to put the lid on and take the lid off without dunking the lid into your food preparation. Without calling anyone out by name, I strongly suspect that reviewers who had this experience didn't bother to read the instructions. At least the model of cooker I bought is ingeniously designed, with an oval shaped opening. When you hold the lid handle at 90 degrees (perpendicular) to the base handle it is very easy to insert the lid into the pot. I would say at most it needs to dip down three-quarters of an inch into the pot, which won't bring it anywhere near your food unless you have majorly overfilled it.The second "issue" which I read about in at least one review, is the idea that the lid will fall into the food when you go to open the pot.Really, both of these issues stem from the sensible but unusual design of this cooker, which is that the lid, rather than resting on top of the pot as it would in a normal saucepan, fits under the rim of the lid. What this means is that the pressure you build up while cooking doesn't force the lid off the pot; in fact it enhances the seal between the pot and the lid. Intuitively this seems to me a much safer way to cook under pressure. However, it does take a very little bit of getting use to; if you release the lid once you are done cooking, after the pressure has diminished, it will fall into the food if you let go of the handle. Because the lid IS inside the pot. However, all you have to do is keeping holding the handle as you turn it perpendicular to slide it out, using exactly the opposite of the motion you used to put the lid on. It isn't exactly brain surgery.I like to eat beans and grains, but in summer I find chickpeas can take two hours or more to cook on the stovetop even after a good overnight soaking, and having the burner on that long doesn't help with the summer temperatures! I'm now cooking them in this Hawkins cooker in less than fifteen minutes. I can't detect any loss of texture or any other difference in the finished result, and I'm very pleased I bought this for quick smaller pressure-cooker jobs. I have a giant pressure cooker for canning, but there is no way I can be bothered to get it out every time I want to make a little hummus. This is a worthy and useful addition to my kitchen arsenal that is going to continue to get a lot of use.

I purchased this wonderful little pressure cooker approximately three years ago, even though I had read a negative review or two. The biggest complaint was that it was too small. But that was exactly why I was interested in it. I already had a larger pressure cooker--I wanted a smaller one, for smaller amounts. Sometimes I don't even use the little regulator as I just want a small heating pot--two different needs. I don't remember how much I paid for it, but I would pay it again.

My second one, I have had the 3 litter for years but now it’ll be for camping and just got the 4 for home. What I love about them is the simplicity, easy to find parts and change them, works flawlessly and the looks of these are great, by the way the black is not really black, more like a dark gray which I prefer. A little hint, once you pour the liquid put it in high flame without the top gasket, once you see a steady stream of vapor then place the top valve, wait until it releases once then lower the heat, also don’t store it with the lid gasket on just place it loose inside or don’t lock the lid (again for storage) but in the event that you need to replace gaskets is easy to do and readily available. I find myself being able to control my cooking better on the stove top than the electric presetting ones. Brown rice 17 minutes after it comes to pressure, ribs falling off the bone etc. Highly recommend Hawkins.