Cooking barley porridge on water in a slow cooker
Barley is one of the oldest cereals that man began to cultivate. This wild plant was cultivated almost ten thousand years ago. In ancient Egypt, not only beer was prepared from this cereal, as other wild peoples did, but also bread. In ancient Rome, gladiators were said to be "eating barley", they ate it in order to quickly gain the necessary muscle mass. This valuable cereal was brought to Russia from Asia and proved to be a useful food product.
What cereals are obtained from barley
Barley and barley groats are not quite the same thing. There are special subtleties in the processing of these cereals. Barley ("barley") is obtained by removing the films, then it is polished and polished. Barley groats do not go through such a complicated procedure. Therefore, it is considered that it is better than barley.
Beneficial features
In barley groats, you can find plant proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins B4, B6, E, PP, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc. This cereal has a nutritional value of 324 kcal per 100 grams. Dishes from it increase immunity, improve heart function. Barley groats are also useful for the proper functioning of the urinary organs. In addition, it strengthens the nervous system, and its fiber content regulates the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Contraindications
Barley is contraindicated for people suffering from gluten intolerance, because this cereal contains up to 22.5%.With exacerbations of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, barley should also be excluded from your diet. Frequent abuse of dishes from barley groats, cooked not on water, contributes to a large weight gain. They are recommended to be eaten no more than two or three times a week.
What can be prepared from barley groats
From this healthy cereal, you can cook a wide variety of nutritious dishes: bread, pancakes, casseroles, meatballs and even salad. But the most common option, of course, is barley porridge. In addition to many vitamins, trace elements, it has a soft texture and is very suitable for those who follow diets, as well as for children. If you cook porridge in water, then it will have a very low calorie content - 80 kcal per 100 grams.
Helpful Hints
Before you start cooking barley porridge, Read on for some tips on how to prepare it.
- Barley groats should always be thoroughly washed. This will not only remove all impurities, but also affect the taste of porridge in the best way. Thanks to this, there will be no lumps in it. You can fill the cereal with water and change the water several times, and then leave it to drain in a sieve. Grains soaked in water will cook much faster.
- Always use dry, not wet product. Since in a humid environment, various bacteria multiply rapidly and mold appears.
- Porridge will have the perfect taste if you first fry the cereal in a slow cooker until golden brown.
- Water should be taken at least twice as much as cereals.
- Sugar should not be introduced into porridge during cooking. The taste of the finished dish from this may deteriorate.
- Do not spare quality butter for porridge. This is the case about which they say that you can’t spoil porridge with butter.
- After the end of the cooking process, be sure to leave the barley porridge to sweat in a sealed container.In the multicooker, you need to turn on the "Heating" mode for 15-20 minutes. The cell will be crumbly and very tasty.
- It must be remembered that this porridge is recommended to be consumed fresh so that the taste and appearance of this healthy, nutritious dish does not deteriorate.
Recipes for porridge on water in a slow cooker
Incredibly easy to prepare porridge from barley groats in a slow cooker. With this cooking process, it will retain the maximum of its healing properties. The porridge will not burn and will be fragrant and crumbly.
The classic version of porridge on the water
Required Ingredients:
- barley groats - 250 grams;
- Water - 0.5 liters;
- butter - 60 grams;
- salt - to taste.
Stages of cooking.
- We wash the cereal well and leave it to drain in a sieve.
- We take about half a piece of butter and grease the multicooker bowl with it.
- We put the washed cereal in a bowl.
- Pour the ingredients with water, add salt and mix.
- Set the mode "Croup" or "Porridge" (in different multicookers there may be different names) for 45 minutes.
- After the signal about the end of the program, put the butter that is left. We turn on the “Heating” mode for 20 minutes or simply leave it to brew in a closed slow cooker for 15–25 minutes.
Perfect porridge
Composition of products:
- barley groats - 250 grams;
- water - 500 milliliters;
- butter - 60 grams;
- salt - to taste.
Prepare according to the following algorithm.
- We turn on the “Baking” program on the multicooker.
- Pour the cooked cereal into the bowl for cooking and fry it until golden brown.
- Fill with boiling water, pour salt. We mix everything.
- Spread the butter on top and close the lid of the multicooker.
- Turn off the "Baking" mode and set the "Porridge" mode. The multicooker will select the time automatically.
- At the end of the program, turn on the "Heating" for 20 minutes.
Porridge with vegetables
Ingredients:
- barley groats - 300 grams;
- carrots - 3 pieces;
- bell pepper - 3 pieces;
- olive oil - 60 milliliters;
- water - 650 milliliters;
- salt - to taste.
Cooking algorithm.
- Grate the carrots, cut the pepper into small pieces.
- Pour olive oil into the multicooker. Put chopped carrots and peppers.
- We combine the washed cereals with vegetables, salt and mix.
- During the cooking process, it is recommended to mix the porridge several times, it will be juicier and tastier.
- Pour all the ingredients with water and turn on the "Grout" mode for 30-40 minutes.
Summing up, we can say with full confidence that porridge from barley groats is a storehouse of substances useful for our body. It is low in calories, yet very nutritious and delicious.
If you eat barley porridge several times a week, you will soon feel a surge of energy and rid your body of harmful substances. Even with a modest culinary experience, with the help of a slow cooker it is easy to prepare this simple, but very healthy dish.
For information on how to cook barley porridge on water in a slow cooker, see the following video.