Prestige 3.5L Triply Pressure Cooker Inner Lid - 20720

The Prestige Tri-Ply Svachh is the step up from an aluminium cooker, and the reason to pay the difference is in the wall of the pot: magnetic stainless steel outside, a thick aluminium core, and food-grade 304 stainless steel inside.

That construction buys two things. The aluminium core spreads heat sideways so the base heats evenly rather than scorching in a ring over the burner. And the 304 interior does not react with acid, so tomato, tamarind and lime cook without picking up a metallic edge or leaving the inside chalky the way an ageing aluminium cooker does.

Handle it the way the manufacturer asks and it will last. Never fill it more than two-thirds full — the space above the food is what generates and holds the steam. Do not force the lid open until the cooker has cooled and the pressure has dropped. Never run it dry on a hot burner, because dry heating is what fuses a safety plug and bulges a base. Wash it by hand.

Two parts are consumable rather than permanent: the sealing gasket and the metallic safety plug. A tired gasket is the usual reason an older cooker stops holding pressure, and replacing one is a five-minute job rather than a reason to replace the cooker.