Barley is a cereal made from polished barley grains. It is ideal for dietary meals, added to soups, and also serves for preparing side dishes and independent dishes, such as pilaf. To make the grains soft, retaining their elasticity, the cereals are boiled for a long time - up to 1, 5 hours with preliminary soaking. Modern kitchen appliances will help speed up the process - for example, a multicooker.
Barley: healthy cereals for every day
Barley is a very useful cereal. Barley grains are rich in fiber, B vitamins, selenium and proteins. In addition, pearl barley is easily digestible, low in calories and high in nutritional value. Barley porridge will be an excellent breakfast dish, a side dish for meat or fish dishes. It is especially tasty with gravy - meat, vegetable or mushroom. Among the advantages of barley, one can also note its availability. This cereal is one of the cheapest.
Despite its many advantages, pearl barley rarely appears on the tables of Russians. The reason is the cooking time. How much porridge will cook depends on the type of cereal - the cooking time can be up to 2 hours, and it is recommended to soak the barley in cold water before cooking. The grains should swell and soften, retaining a pleasant elasticity and a beautiful "pearl" appearance.
To speed up the process, you can cook the cereals in the microwave or double boiler. But the most convenient option is a multicooker. It allows you to make a crumbly side dish, delicious porridge or pilaf with vegetables and meat. The whole process will take 60-80 minutes, but it will not require your participation - it is only important to choose the correct cooking mode.
In a multicooker, porridge can be prepared in advance and left in the heating mode.
How to cook barley porridge simply and quickly
Try making a delicious crumbly pearl barley porridge. It can be eaten with butter or vegetable oil, used as a side dish or as a filling in soups. It is more convenient to measure cereals and water with special glasses for a multicooker.
You will need:
- 1 glass of pearl barley;
- 2, 5 glasses of water;
- 0.25 teaspoon of salt;
- sugar to taste;
- butter for dressing.
Rinse the cereal thoroughly in several waters. If you plan to cook breakfast porridge, put the cereal in the multicooker bowl in the evening and cover it with cold water. Leave the pearl barley to swell.
The process of swelling of the grains can be accelerated by pouring boiling water over the washed cereal and leaving it for half an hour. After that, cook the porridge in the usual way.
In the morning, add salt and sugar to the swollen cereal. Close the lid and turn on the "Buckwheat" or "Porridge" mode - the cooking process will take 60-80 minutes. Ready-made pearl barley porridge can be left on the heating or immediately put on portioned plates. Add a lump of butter to the dish. If desired, it can be sprinkled with finely chopped herbs. If you prefer sweet porridge, pour liquid honey on the prepared barley.
