People cooking on a daily basis sure know about the time and efforts that go into cooking. Having to watch over the food being cooked for a long time and not being able to do any other task simultaneously, it really can take a toll on you. We are so used to the conventional cooking appliances that we are not aware of the contemporary devices coming day by day. With the new instruments in the market, everything is getting easier and we can save much more of our time and energy. Similarly, like a stovetop cooker needs constant supervision to cook the food inside, it can be replaced with the best electric cookers in India that would make cooking easier than ever! 

A top electric cooker will surely erase most of your problems and make them easier, but the harder part is choosing the one that caters to your needs. There are various brands having their own different models that compete to be the best electric cooker brand in India but all of them offer varying features. We would provide you with the list of electric cookers with different price ranges so you can get the one that suits you the best. All you have to do is put the ingredients in the cooker, lock the lid, select a specific cooking program, and keep it for some time while you finish your other errands.

Editor's Picks: 4 of the Top Electric Cooker Brands In India

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5 Best Electric Cookers In India Reviewed

1. Prestige Delight Electric Rice Cooker Cute

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We would place a safe bet and go on to state that prestige is a brand that is well-known everywhere. In the world of cooking appliances, and especially cookers, prestige has introduced a humongous number of products that can be found in almost every other kitchen here. 

Being one of the oldest brands, prestige understands the needs of consumers and has varying portfolio products of the kitchen. Prestige knows the innovation and thus brought the best electric rice cooker in India that does not just cook rice but a whole lot of food. It can cook pulao, stew, idlis, vegetables, etc. with ease.

To add to your convenience, there is a handle to the side that is also a scoop holder. The handle carries the cooker and also holds the scoop/ladle so you can serve with ease. It is a bit smaller than expected but still provides a good level of comfort. These handles are strong and durable. They have a double-wall body and very cool-touch handles that can be easy to carry. 

There is a control switch lever at the bottom-front of the cooker for automatic cooking.  There are 2 indicators – Cook and Warm – to switch the modes. When the rice is done cooking, the mode itself shifts to “Keep Warm” to prevent overcooking. There is a detachable power cord that can make the cooker very portable to use.

It has a lid made of stainless steel quality. On the lid, there is a steam vent through which steam can go through. This makes it extra convenient and steam wouldn’t stay inside. 

There is also an additional cooking pan that is made of aluminum and can be stacked for use when needed. These pans distribute the heat evenly and effectively cook the rice. They can be kept in the cooker too to save space.

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2. NutriBullet NutriCook Smart Electric Pressure Cooker

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NutriBullet has introduced Nutricook smart electric pressure cooker which is one of the best budget electric cookers on the market. It has a different look altogether. The brand is pretty reliable and can be trusted upon. Its best feature is that it gives you 9 kitchen appliances in 1! Yes! It can replace 9 of your cooking appliances and you will need to use this just one instrument. 

You will get a pressure cooker, slow cooker, sauté maker, steamer, soup maker, yogurt maker, rice maker, egg cooker, and food warmer in just this one SmartPot. With this versatility, it is a substitute for so many of your kitchen items. 

You can cook your meal in just a few minutes as it is 70% faster than the normal appliances. The food wouldn’t lose any taste, in fact, it would be even tastier than usual as it perfectly mixes all the ingredients and flavors.  

There are 14 Easy Touch Button cooking programs: Curry/Lentils, Poultry, Meat/Stew, Soup/Broth, Slow Cook, Sauté, Rice, Pasta, Porridge, Steam, Yogurt, Manual, Keep Warm & Delayed Start. These just need to be simply pressed once and they’ll operate efficiently as per your need.

It has undergone serious testing and can be ensured due to its 11 safety mechanisms. There is an LCD screen that estimates the cooking time so you can decide your other activities accordingly. This 9-in-1 cooking pot can be used for various reasons but two things cannot be cooked at once because of the absence of a raised trivet. 

The delay start feature can prove to be very beneficial as it can start cooking after a certain time period. You can put the ingredients and turn the delay start mode to a certain period and it will do its thing automatically. 

It has the capacity of up to 6 liters and can be used easily through the manual guide. The SmartPot consumes 1000W of power and the auto-shutdown feature will also save the electricity for you.

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3. Preethi Touch EPC005 6-Liter Electric Pressure Cooker

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Preethi brand introduces this automatic electric pressure cooker that is equipped with Nutri++ technology. This technology takes your nutritional value into the account and uniformly cooks all the ingredients. It increases the nutrient bioavailability of your food. 

Like the previous, it has also multifunctions and can replace several appliances due to its 5-in-1 feature. It can be a pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, warmer, and a sauté pan. These features will make your cooking convenient and your food ready in minutes.

There is a water-level indicator as well. The cooker has been involved in various tests and ensures 9 safety mechanisms for controlling and limiting pressure, power, and temperature. One of its best features is that it has both manual and auto mode, meaning you can also use it as a conventional pressure cooker when needed.

There are 15-preprogrammed Indian recipes installed in this cooker that tells us about the cooker’s ability to cook a minimum of 15 recipes. You wouldn’t need to refer any different guide as you can get it all here. The delay timer mode ranges from 30 minutes to an incredible 8 hours. You can set the timer in the morning and it will make your dinner at night by itself.

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4. Geek Robocook Automatic 5 Litre Electric Pressure Cooker

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The brand of Geek has a contemporary approach and futuristic design that is also updated with the latest trends. It is ideally crafted and has smart productivity to give you an efficient experience. State-of-the-art technology and expanded features are proof of innovation that it carries.

Geek Robocook’s affordable electric pressure cooker has an advanced technology that can cook food faster and has been tested rigorously to pass 7 safety mechanisms. You can cook rapidly and effectively through 11 preset menus controlled by microchips. These preset menus would cause very little manual intervention. 

The nutri+ technology ensures the circumvent cooking process to give you the rich nutritional content of the ingredients. Its inner pot is coated with Anodised Teflon where food cannot stick by any chance. It has the ability to carry 5 liters of weight. 

The programmable intelligent cooking handles temperature, heat, time, and pressure of your cooking. It has the features of baking, frying, sauteing, stewing, braising, steaming, etc. and all of these can be done without compromising even one bit in the food quality.

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5. Panasonic SR-Y18FHS 660-Watt Automatic Electric Cooker

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Panasonic, being in existence since 1991, has delivered their customers with the finest experiences they can have in various appliances. All the kinds of products they make ensure reliability and trust. Similarly, this SR-Y18FHS electric cooker is one of the bests out there and can make your work a lot simpler.

It is a top electric rice cooker that specializes in rice cooking and can also make steamed fish or vegetables. The capacity of this cooker is not much but it is good enough to cook for a small group or a small family. It consumes just 660W through its powerful motor and can make food faster with energy-efficient techniques.

There are bridge handles that are heat-proof where you wouldn’t have to be concerned about your hands burning. You can comfortably hold the cooker even without the mitts. The transparent glass in the middle allows you to see the progress of your food being cooked. This can rarely be seen in any other pressure cooker.

There is an auto-cooking feature that does not need manual instructions and you can carry on with your other work while your food is being made. The non-stick pan prevents burns and food from getting stubbornly stuck. If you want to leave your house and leave the food for other members, the keep-warm function allows you to keep your food warm for up to 4 hours.

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Things You Need To Consider Before Buying An Electric Cooker In India

Size

As they say, size does matter, and very much in this case. You wouldn’t want to regret getting a wrong-sized electric cooker and then be irritated all the time because it doesn’t match your needs. You have to consider your family and the frequent visits to your house before selecting an electric cooker.

A good rule of thumb is that you should consider 1 liter/person. If you are a couple, buy a 2-liter cooker, if you’re a family of 4, get a 4 or 5 liter. The more the people, the more the liter capacity. However, we would recommend you go for at least a 6-liter electric cooker as it would cook 2 shifts at a time and can handle the unexpected guests as well.

Keep in mind that the larger its capacity is, the more time it takes to generate enough steam to cook. Large cookers do cook slower but the taste and quantity is delicious as it comes. 

Safety

Safety always comes first. The stovetop cookers do carry a lot of risks with them. There is nothing automatic and thus there are all kinds of dangers. Even though the electric cookers are automatic and have their own settings to control the temperature and heat, that doesn’t change the fact that there are a high temperature and superheated steam within the cooker. 

Safety should be considered through features like secure and tight lid locks, tight-fit lids, pressure release valve, pressure controller, pressure indicator, etc. Cookers should have an insulating body so the exterior part doesn’t burn your hands. The handles should be cool as well so the food can be served with an easy and comfortable grip.

Cleaning

There are rice cookers that come with stainless steel bowls that are durable but can be very difficult to be cleaned. Bowls having a non-stick coating can be cleaned and washed easily. The lid should be removable easily for cleaning valves, rims, and gasket. In case you use a dishwasher for cleaning, you should buy a cooker that is compatible with a dishwasher. There are products with “dishwasher safe” mentioned on them, they can fit well with a dishwasher. If not, you can always scrub the inner parts. 

Note that you should only wash accessories like a lid, pots, etc. as the housing has an electric socket and it shouldn’t be messed with.

Durability

Stainless steel and Aluminum are the two primary materials to make an electric cooker. While aluminum cookers are quite inexpensive, they are not as durable as stainless steel cookers. They can conduct heat faster but can be distorted while cooling. Stainless steel cookers are a bit expensive but ensure durability, even heat, and cannot be easily bent. Aluminum is also reactive to arctic food ingredients that are mostly used in Indian food and it can change the flavor, while stainless steel would not compromise the quality.

Non-stick Inner Pots

Hearing the non-stick material makes you think it is useful, but it is only of use in frying pans. The non-stick coating should not be exposed to a high temperature but as the pressure cooker often operates at high-level temperature, it’s best not to use it. The Teflon coating should always be used for electric cookers as it can handle a good amount of heat. Non-stick coating cannot be easily cleaned either and there are stains that can stay permanent if the hard layers begin to peel off. 

Wattage

Higher wattage means faster cooking. It would also mean that it consumes more electricity but it does your work faster. When you are in a hurry to cook food or often have unexpected guests at your place, you would need something that can cook food in minutes. 800 Watt cooker takes around 20 minutes to cook food while a 1000 watt cooker can cook food in 10 minutes. If you do not mind getting more electricity consumed and prefer faster cooking, consider buying the higher wattage. 

Warranty

There are many electric cookers out there with no warranty at all but also the ones with at least 6-months warranty. You can even be misled through the advertising as a warranty wouldn’t be for the entire cooker but only some of the parts such as pot or heater. It is best to confirm if the warranty is for the entire product or not. Non-warranty parts of the cooker do need to be replaced in a couple of years, although, you wouldn’t get a replacement easily if the brand is hard to find. The products we have listed come with a good warranty and can cover the replacements too.

Additional Functions

Digital Timer

Initial models of electric cookers did not have digital timers on them but it’s best to buy the one which has. These can automatically switch off at a certain period and will also tell you the estimated time of cooking. 

Keep-Warm Feature

As the name tells, it allows you to keep your food warm for some hours after the cooking is done with. You can enjoy warm food even after some time and it would still be just as hot and tasty. Most of the models come with this feature but do consider it before buying. 

Steam Collector

There is a tiny container on the sides that collects all the unnecessary and excessive steam and holds them during a cooking process. With this, the food does not get sticky or soggy and the taste does not go away.

Pressure Control

Your cooker should have two pressure settings – high pressure and low pressure. Many cookers only have a high-pressure setting that can destroy delicate foods like fish and pasta. There are also cookers with just a “medium-pressure” option but we recommend you to go for the ones that have at least high or low options.

Pressure Release

A valve is placed on the cooker that releases the quick pressure. Touching the release value during the cooking process can get a lot of steam out at once and it might cause burns. It is recommended that you stand away and use a spoon or something to do the quick release. 

There are two functions for releasing the pressure from the cooker – Quick Release or Natural Release. Quick-release can be done through the valve whereas natural release is done after the cooking process.

Safety Tips While Using An Electronic Cooker

Electrical appliances always need to be handled with extra care. Most of the time, people are scared of the electrical shocks or the damage it can do to switches. It is true that they impose a good risk but they also come with maximum safety. To add to that, we will also give you some safety tips that might be useful for handling the electric pressure cooker.

Quantity

There is just the right amount of food and/or water needed at a time in electric cookers. It is important that you do not underfill or overfill the cooker as that might cause trouble. It is always important to add some water whenever you are adding food into the cooker, as it can balance out the equation and tackle the steam being generated inside. 

Crack-free Gasket

The gasket of a cooker is one of the most important components and thus it needs to be checked from time to time. Just give it a check on a daily basis to ensure it is not cracked from anywhere and can be used in cooking just fine. The rim of the cooker should also be shiny and clean to avoid any hassle. 

Avoid Pressure Frying

While many cookers can function at multi-level, it is advised that you do not attempt pressure frying in the electric cooker. It can lead to some serious damage and may lead to severe accidents. We doubt you would try this but our job is to guide you.

Switch

While the electric pressure cookers do have a long power cord that can easily reach the switch even if it is away, it is best if you place the electric cooker as close as possible to the switch. It can prevent unnecessary interruptions caused by wire and getting tangled. The long wires can also cause trouble while coming in contact with water. 

Handles

Taking the grip of electric cookers and the heat they cause into consideration, many companies have provided the feature of cool-touch handles to make it easy to hold. However, this is not the case in every cooker, and even if you have the one with cool-touch handles, we would still advise you to use a mitt or a cloth while you touch the handles. It would just add an extra measure of safety to your experience.

Washing

Electrical appliances and water are the two opposite poles that never go well with each other. We should wash the electric cooker after every shift of cooking but with preventive measures. The different parts of the cooker should be washed and cleaned separately and not as a whole. The cooker itself holds the socket inside and thus it should be cleaned with a scrub separately as well. You should be careful to not put too much water at once either as it would jam the settings inside.

Advantages Of An Electric Cooker

A pressure cooker has been known to be one of the most important components of a kitchen. It cuts the cooking time by an incredible margin and ensures that the food is tastier than ever. The nutritional values of food do not lose the value and it does not compromise even one bit. Along with these advantages of a pressure cooker, electric cooker adds some more benefits that are as follows:

• Thanks to the keep-warm feature, your food, especially the rice, can be kept warm for a long time. It is helpful in case the timing of your family is mismatched and you need to cook in advance. Your food does not need to be warmed again as the keep-warm feature will do that for you.
• Traditional pressure cookers have been doing the job for a long time but they are not as secure. Electric cookers, even in the list above, have many safety mechanisms. They have undergone rigorous tests to prove their sturdiness and safety. These cookers can range from 5 to 11-safety mechanisms and can be very safe to use.
• The electric cookers are quite simple to operate, which is not the case in a microwave oven. There would also be no instances of excess spillage of water or overflow of cooked rice. 
• While buying the electric cooker is comparatively expensive, it is cheaper to operate. Electricity is being used for electric cooker and not the LPG. LPG is more expensive and thus electricity would save money. 
• There is also no need for an LPG connection as an induction cooktop can be used for other appliances while electricity for electric cookers. 
• Cooking rice in these electric cookers can be a thing of beauty as they are never undercooked or overcooked. They are cooked just the right amount and will be delicious as well.
• In traditional cookers, heat transfer is done through the flame which makes it less efficient. In the electric cookers, heat transfer is direct and there is no loss of heat in between, thus making it more efficient. 
• Electric cookers do not require manual operation and you do not have to watch them over the entire period of cooking. There is no need to count the whistles every time. You can finish up with your other tasks while the food is being cooked. It would save you time and you can simultaneously finish other errands.
• Electric cookers nowadays come in multifunction and can do almost all the cooking work. They can steam, cook, and do a lot of other things. One would obviously prefer just a single appliance that can do most of the work instead of a dozen other. 
• There are also programs installed in the electric cookers. Pre-programmed options of various dishes available in some cookers can make your cooking even easier!

Disadvantages Of An Electric Cooker

• While the automatic process is an impressively useful feature, it can be a bad thing as well. We often want to check the progress of cooking to see how is it going. With the electric cooker, you would have to wait until the process ends. You cannot look for the progress in between.
• Considering the previous point, we also taste our food while cooking to adjust seasoning. We have to adjust the seasoning. Adding extra herbs, spices, or peppers in food if needed. With electric cookers, it is not possible. We cannot know about the taste until the food is ready. 
• Even though there are multifunctional electric cookers, they cannot handle different dishes at the same time. Every dish takes its own time to cook and then the other one can be cooked. If you want to cook 2 dishes simultaneously, you would need to use some other cooking appliance, which just eliminates some of the plus points of an electric cooker. 
• Electric cooker models can be quite bulky as compared to traditional cookers. They also require additional care as they are prone to damage easily as compared to the non-electric cookers.
• We cannot stress enough the fact that electrical appliances do bring a certain amount of risk to them. You are already aware of the dangers related but if the tips above are followed, you don’t need to worry. 

Stovetop Cookers V/s Electric Cookers

Points for Stovetop Cookers

The stovetop cookers are comparatively better at browning the rice than electric cookers. They can do the job better and sometimes faster than the electric cookers.  

Stovetop cookers can achieve higher operating pressure. All other things considered, the stovetop cookers can generate maximum pressure in just 11 minutes while electric cookers take about 14 minutes. 

Stovetop cookers are cooled-off easily too. Water can be put on them to cool them down but the same cannot be done with electric cookers. 

Electric cookers have a heating element and technological components which make them bulky and require a lot of space. On the other hand, stovetop cookers can be stored easily. 

Points for Electric Cookers

Stovetop cookers make noise during the entire cooking process, and it just increases when they vent steam through the pressure release valve. Electric pressure cookers have almost no sound while cooking and only make noise during the pressure release. 

Electric cookers can be used easily as the settings are mostly automatic. The preprogrammed options for dishes can make them even simpler to use and do not need to be monitored like stovetop cookers. 

Electric cookers can smartly schedule the food for you. These cookers can tell you how much time it will take you to cook. You can even schedule the cooking and it will start at the exact time. 

Stovetop cookers can just cook the food while many electric cookers have numerous functions that can prove their versatility. They can be quite beneficial to use as they replace several other appliances.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A Final Word

Electric cookers were introduced in the market to make your cooking experience a lot easier. These can be expensive but they are worth the price. Being an electrical appliance, they require a considerable amount of care and supervision. If handled right, they can be used for years to come, without having to use the warranty. You can safely go ahead and get the right electric cooker for you considering the buying guide above.

On an ending note, we personally recommend you to buy:

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 This cooker can give you 9-in-1 kitchen appliances and all of them for a very affordable price. It is backed with a 1-year warranty and the best feature is 11-safety mechanisms to ensure finest security