How to cook barley porridge correctly

What to cook pearl barley porridge

Pearl barley is boiled in water, milk and even vegetable or meat broth. In this case, you need to take three glasses of water or broth for a glass of cereal for boiling on the stove, it will take four glasses of milk.

A proportion of one to three is also required for microwave cooking, and 2½ – 3 cups of water or milk should be added to the multicooker.

How to prepare pearl barley

Go through the barley and make sure there is no debris in it. Then put the cereals in a sieve or colander and rinse well under running water. Alternatively, you can simply put it in a bowl and rinse, changing the water until it becomes clear.

Then soak the barley - put it in a saucepan and fill it with cool water so that it is a couple of centimeters above the barley level. Leave it on for a couple of hours or even overnight. Thanks to soaking, the porridge will cook faster and will be even tastier. Rinse the cereals again before cooking.

If you are in a hurry, you don't need to leave the cereal in the water. But then it will take a little more time to cook porridge.

What to add to pearl barley porridge

At the beginning of cooking, barley porridge needs to be salted - a teaspoon is usually enough for one glass of cereal. If you prefer salty or, conversely, bland dishes, adjust the amount of salt to your liking. Porridge can also be cooked sweet.

How to cook barley porridge with vegetables and mushrooms

Be sure to put butter in the finished porridge - this will make it tastier. You can also add fried onions and carrots, other vegetables, fried mushrooms, garlic, herbs and spices to your taste. These options are well suited for barley porridge in water or broth.

If you want to immediately cook a dish with meat or vegetables, for 1 glass of cereal you will need one carrot and an onion, about 250-300 g of meat (pork, beef, minced meat) or 200 g of mushrooms.

How to cook barley porridge on the stove

Place the cereals in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for 40-50 minutes to an hour (depending on whether the pearl barley was soaked first).

To cook pearl barley porridge in milk, pour 1–2 glasses of water over the cereal and boil for 15 minutes. After draining the liquid, pour in the hot milk and cook for 30 minutes or longer, until the cereal is soft enough.

To make barley porridge with meat and vegetables, grate the carrots on a coarse grater and chop the onion. Fry vegetables in a deep skillet with a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil for about 7 minutes. Add 200-300 g minced meat and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Pour pearl barley, salt, add spices and fill with water at the same rate as for ordinary porridge (1: 3). Cover and cook over low heat for 30 minutes.

How to cook barley porridge in a slow cooker

Put the pearl barley in a slow cooker and cover with water or milk. Add sugar or salt and spices to your liking. Cook for at least an hour in the "Rice" or "Porridge" mode.

How to cook barley porridge with meat and vegetables

You can also cook porridge with vegetables and meat. To begin with, grate the carrots on a coarse grater, chop the onion, cut about 250 g of pork into small pieces.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of oil into the multicooker bowl, add the vegetables with meat and cook in the "Fry" mode for about 15-20 minutes. Then add cereals, cover with water, salt and cook in the "Rice" or "Porridge" mode for about 50-60 minutes. Then mix the ingredients and leave for another 15 minutes in the "Heat" mode.

How to cook barley porridge in the microwave

Place the cereal in a microwave safe dish. Fill with water in the correct proportion and make sure that the liquid does not reach the top of the bowl. Cook for 10 minutes at maximum power. Then stir the porridge, add sugar or salt with spices. Continue cooking for another 10–20 minutes, focusing on the power of your machine.

To make pearl barley porridge with milk in the microwave, also place the cereals in a suitable bowl. Fill with hot liquid so that it does not reach the top. Make sure that the milk does not boil over during heating. Leave the dishes uncovered and cook in the same way as with water.

After cooking, leave the pearl barley porridge in a covered microwave for about 15 minutes.

Find out all the nuances?

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How to cook barley porridge in the oven

Fry the barley for two minutes over low heat in a skillet without oil. Make sure that the groats do not burn, but simply become slightly golden. Then transfer the pearl barley to one large ceramic pot or several small ones.

Pour in salted water at a rate of three to one. At the same time, make sure that the liquid does not reach the top by about a couple of centimeters. Close the lid and cook in an oven preheated to 200 ° C for about 30 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 180 ° C and leave to cook for about an hour more.

To make the dish more satisfying, you can add grilled vegetables and mushrooms, as well as pork or beef to it. This will not change the cooking time.