Barley is our new favourite in my family. My son prefers this porridge to any other we make, so we wake up to a variation of this recipe every other day to keep him happy. 🙂
We roll pot or pearl barley into flakes using a hand flaker, but you can always buy barley flakes instead.
Overnight (or not) Barley Flake Porridge without Milk
Using an electric pressure cooker or a stove
Equipment
- Electric pressure cooker, optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups barley flakes - we flake one cup of pearl barley grain
- 4 cups water
- 3 whole dates - one per person
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tbsp ghee - use unsalted butter to substitute
- 1/4 tsp salt - omit salt if using salted butter instead of ghee
- 1/2 tsp honey per person - or 1tsp maple syrup per person
- 9 strands saffron - optional
Instructions
Overnight method using electric pressure cooker
- In the evening, place the water in the inner pot first, followed by barley, whole dates without chopping, salf (if using) and cinnamon.
- Set to cook for 3 minutes at high pressure and, using a delay timer adjust for the cooker to start the process 35 minutes before your meal. In this case there will be enough time for it to come to pressure and release it fully.
- After the pressure valve is down, open the lid and stir in the ghee.
- Serve the porridge into three bowls, spooning one date into each bowl and cutting it with the edge of the spoon. Optionally stir in 3 strands of saffron per person.
- When the porridge had a few minutes to cool down enough to eat, drizzle some honey over each bowl. Enjoy!
Morning method on the hob
- Soak the barley flakes and dates in water the night before. In this way, the porridge will cook faster.
- In the morning, add the remaining ingredients, apart from the honey and cook till soft and creamy (about 5 minutes).
- Serve the porridge into three bowls, spooning one date into each bowl and cutting it with the edge of the spoon. Optionally stir in 3 strands of saffron per person.
- When the porridge had a few minutes to cool down enough to eat, drizzle some honey over each bowl. Enjoy!
Notes
For some variety, omit the salt and serve with a little fresh cream over each bowl.
Note that according to Ayurveda, ghee & honey should never be used in equal parts by weight because of their opposing qualities, which will create toxins. (According to Divya Alter, "e.g., 1 teaspoon honey plus 3 teaspoons ghee is toxic.")
Note that according to Ayurveda, ghee & honey should never be used in equal parts by weight because of their opposing qualities, which will create toxins. (According to Divya Alter, "e.g., 1 teaspoon honey plus 3 teaspoons ghee is toxic.")