How and how long to cook pearl barley in water? How to cook delicious pearl barley porridge: recipe, tips

How to properly cook crumbly pearl barley for a side dish

Equipment: bowl, tablespoon, colander, saucepan.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

1. We thoroughly wash the pearl barley in several waters.

   When you choose cereal in the store, make sure that there are no dark grains in it - this indicates that the cereal has expired. For preparing a side dish, pearl barley with small grains is best suited.

2. Pour three glasses of water into the pan and bring it to a boil.

   Important! It is better to use a pan with a thick bottom so that the cereal does not burn during the cooking process.

   Read also:  Turkey chops in batter - step-by-step recipe with photos. How to cook turkey chops in cheese batter?
3. Add washed pearl barley to boiling water.

4. When the water boils again, cook the cereal for 7 minutes, and then drain it in a colander.

   Did you know? Thus, we get rid of the unnecessary stickiness of the cereal and it turns out crumbly.

5. Pour two glasses of water into the pan and add vegetable oil and salt.

6. Bring the water to a boil and put the boiled pearl barley into it.

7. Stir the contents of the pan, cover with a lid and cook for 40 minutes. In this case, the fire should be minimal.

8. That's all! Our delicious pearl barley is ready. It can be served as a side dish with any meat or fish.

Video recipe for making pearl barley as a side dish

You can watch in the video all the stages of preparing pearl barley for a side dish.

A slow cooker is also perfect for preparing pearl barley. Barley cooked in a slow cooker will turn out very crumbly and will definitely not burn. You don’t need to set the temperature or think about how long you need to cook the porridge, the multicooker will do everything itself.

How to quickly cook pearl barley in water with pre-soaking

This method is convenient because after soaking, the cereal swells so much that to bring it to readiness, it only needs to simmer for about 30 minutes.

First of all, thoroughly wash the pearl barley under running cool water, making sure to rub the grains with your hands. Pour the washed cereal with cold water and leave until it swells for at least 5-6 hours, ideally overnight. You need to take a lot of water for soaking - about a liter per 1 tbsp. cereals

Afterwards, drain the water in which the pearl barley was soaked. We wash the cereal itself again and transfer it to a suitable saucepan.

Next, put the pan on the stove at maximum heat, pour boiling water over the barley (boil the kettle and, as the water boils, pour in the barley). To obtain dry and crumbly porridge, 2 tbsp will be enough. water. For more viscous porridge - at least 3. We take the same glass that we used to measure the cereal.

Fill with water and immediately close the lid. The water begins to gurgle within 30 seconds. Switch the heat of the stove to medium and cook the barley for 25 minutes. After the specified time, open the lid. The cereal on top has already completely absorbed the water; there is still some liquid left at the bottom of the pan. Add some salt to the barley, mix and close the lid again.

Cook the pearl barley for another 5 minutes, then turn off the stove without removing the pan from it. Let the porridge simmer and cook for another 10 minutes - and the pearl barley is ready! Then it can either be served or used to prepare other dishes (soups, salads, cutlets, etc.).

How to cook pearl barley as a side dish in a slow cooker

• Cooking time – 35 minutes.
• Number of servings – 3.
• Equipment: bowl, tablespoon, slow cooker.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

1. First, the cereal must be washed and cleaned of debris and other impurities.
   To reduce cooking time, you need to soak the pearl barley for 3 hours, or even better, overnight - this will make the porridge swell and cook faster.
2. After soaking, drain the water from the cereal and transfer it to the multicooker bowl.

   Important! Consider the volume of the multicooker and do not cook too much cereal at once so that the porridge does not “run away” during cooking.

3. Add water and salt to the barley, mix and set the multicooker to “Porridge”. The multicooker itself will set the required temperature and cooking time, so all you have to do is patiently wait for the signal to finish cooking.

4. When the porridge is cooked, add butter, mix everything and serve.

If necessary, you can leave the porridge to simmer in the “Warming” mode.

Video recipe for cooking pearl barley as a side dish in a slow cooker

If you have popular kitchen appliances, but you haven’t tried cooking such porridge in it yet, watch a short video that will help you navigate the features of preparing delicious pearl barley.

Barley is prepared not only as a side dish; you can add vegetables or some sauce to it and serve it as an independent dish. You will learn how to do this from the following recipe.

Cooking tips and tricks

As you have already learned from the above recipes, preparing a side dish of pearl barley is not at all difficult, especially if you know the secrets of its preparation. Always soak pearl barley for at least a couple of hours before cooking .

It will be better if you soak the cereal in the evening and leave it to soak overnight. This way the porridge will cook faster and be more crumbly. Also, the lion's share of harmful substances that were used in the cultivation of this cereal will be released from the cereal.

Try to diversify your diet by adding healthy cereals to it. After all, even ordinary porridge can be prepared very tasty. If you add vegetables or mushrooms to the buckwheat side dish, the porridge will acquire a new taste and aroma. I often prepare a side dish of rice in the same way. And if you need a very light side dish, I can recommend a side dish of zucchini. Zucchini is a very light vegetable, it is easy to prepare and very healthy. You will get an even larger portion of vitamins and minerals if you serve a side dish of spinach with a meat or fish dish.

Don't forget to leave reviews and comments about making pearl barley. Write how you prepare this porridge.

How to deliciously cook pearl barley with tomato sauce as a side dish

• Cooking time – 1 hour.
• Number of servings – 2.
• Equipment: bowls, tablespoon, knife, cutting board, saucepan.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

1. First you need to boil the pearl barley. Pour half a liter of water into the pan and add the washed cereal.
2. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over very low heat for 45 minutes.

   Did you know? To make pearl barley cook faster, you can soak it for 3-4 hours.

3. While the pearl barley is cooking, we can prepare the tomatoes.
   Peel them and cut them into small cubes. Did you know? Tomatoes are very easy to peel if you pour boiling water over them.
4. Add tomato paste and tomatoes to the finished pearl barley. Mix everything and add 100 ml of water.

5. Bring the barley to a boil, add salt and cook for about 5 minutes, then cover with a lid and leave to brew for 20 minutes.

6. Finely chop the basil and add to the finished dish.

Video recipe for pearl barley with tomato sauce as a side dish

I suggest watching the video for step-by-step preparation of pearl barley with tomato sauce.

Also be sure to check out how to cook red beans as a side dish. This great bean dish is very satisfying and healthy. And if you're looking for a dish that goes great with both fish and meat, check out how to cook fresh spinach.

I would like to offer another pearl barley recipe, with which you can diversify your menu for lunch or dinner with a very original and healthy dish.

How long does it take to cook pearl barley?

There is no clear answer to this question.

The cooking time for porridge depends on the methods of preliminary preparation of the cereal and, in fact, on the cooking method.

In the table below you will find the approximate cooking time for the porridge.

Be sure to carefully study the cereal manufacturer's recommendations regarding the methods of preparing this product and the recipe book that comes with the kitchen appliances that you are going to use when preparing the porridge.

Recipe for barley with mushrooms and tomatoes

• Cooking time – 1 hour.
• Number of servings – 2.
• Equipment: bowl, tablespoon, knife, cutting board, frying pan, blender, slotted spoon, saucepan, baking dish.

Ingredients

Step-by-step preparation

1. First, we blanch the tomatoes.
   Did you know? Blanching makes it easier to peel tomatoes while maintaining their shape.
2. Place a pan of water on the fire and bring it to a boil. Make an X-shaped cut at the base of the tomatoes.

3. Place them in boiling water for 30-40 seconds, then remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a bowl of cold water.

4. Using a blender, grind the zest of half a lime and a lemon, as well as a clove of garlic. Add a pinch of salt, sugar, two tablespoons of vegetable oil to the finished mixture and mix everything again with a blender.

5. Peel the tomatoes and add the zest to the sauce.

6. Mix everything and bake for 30 minutes at 150 degrees.

7. Finely chop the celery and lightly fry it in sunflower or olive oil.

8. Add pearl barley and mushrooms to it. I used canned ones, but you can add fried ones. Add a little water or broth (about 50 ml), mix everything and simmer for 5 minutes.

9. Serve the finished dish with baked tomatoes and zest sauce. You can also add some fresh basil.

What are the benefits of pearl barley?

Pearl barley is processed barley grains. This porridge is highly nutritious and also contains the following beneficial substances:

• vitamin B6;
• potassium;
• magnesium;
• selenium;
• phosphorus;
• amino acids.

Due to the presence of valuable substances, pearl barley improves metabolism, as a result of which body weight is normalized and toxins are removed from the body. In addition, it is possible to get rid of constipation due to the increased fiber content. Properly prepared pearl barley porridge is not only very healthy, but also tasty.

Milk porridge

How to cook crumbly pearl barley in water is described above, but you can use milk to prepare a tasty and nutritious breakfast. Before cooking, the cereal must be prepared - rinse thoroughly and soak in hot water for 40 minutes. After which it must be cooked until the liquid has completely evaporated, then you can add milk. In this case, for 1 glass of dry product you need 1.5 glasses of water and 2.5 glasses of milk.

Boil the porridge in milk for 30 minutes, after which you can add sugar and spices to taste. Instead of classic cooking on the stove, you can send the porridge after adding milk to the oven. With this method of preparation, the product acquires a pleasant creamy taste and delicate consistency.

Recipe without soaking

How to prepare crumbly pearl barley in water without pre-soaking? This method is suitable for those who have a lot of time for cooking.

1. Pearl barley must be rinsed well under running water several times to remove dust and other impurities.
2. After which it needs to be filled with 2.5–3 glasses of water per 1 glass of cereal.
3. Cook the porridge over low heat, stirring occasionally for 1.5 hours.

It is important not to forget to salt the food at the start of cooking, so the salt will evenly dissolve in the water and permeate the cereal.

Barley in the oven

How to cook crumbly pearl barley in the oven? If you know some of the nuances, it is possible to prepare a tasty and aromatic porridge that will retain all its beneficial properties. To do this you need to do the following:

• rinse the cereal thoroughly to remove dust;
• soak it in hot water for 60 minutes;
• Boil the pearl barley over low heat for 1 hour;
• after this, the food must be removed from the stove and placed in a preheated oven for 40 minutes (at this stage you can add butter, meat, raisins, sugar or salt);
• After this time, you need to leave the container with porridge in the oven for another 20–30 minutes.

With this method of preparation, pearl barley porridge turns out to be as healthy as possible, very tasty and melts in your mouth.

Porridge in the microwave

Many people use a microwave oven exclusively to reheat already cooked food. In fact, this kitchen appliance has many more functions. How to cook crumbly pearl barley in the microwave? To do this you need to follow these instructions:

• Pearl barley must be washed well and pre-soaked for an hour in hot water;
• after which you need to add water, salt, sugar, spices, butter to taste and place the barley in the microwave;
• at medium power it should be cooked for 30–35 minutes;
• At the same time, it is recommended to stir the porridge periodically so that it cooks evenly; this should be done approximately once every 10–15 minutes.

At the end of the cooking time, wrap the container with porridge in a warm towel and leave for 30 minutes.