Pearl Barley and Chickpeas
by fuzzydizzy in Cooking > Main Course
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Pearl Barley and Chickpeas
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If you have never tried pearl barley before, this is the recipe you should start with.
This is a warm and comforting dish that you can enjoy at any time of the day in any season.
It is also a one-pot recipe!
Ingredients:
- Pearl barley - 120g
- Chickpeas (already boiled) - 120g
- Tomatoes - 2 large ones
- Ginger - 1 cm long piece (optional)
- Garlic - 1 clove (optional)
- Rosemary - half a sprig
- Coriander - a few leaves to garnish
- Other spices of your choice - salt, chilli, ground coriander, cumin etc.
Cooks best in a pressure cooker. Saves you time.
Prep and Cook
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Prep
- Dice the tomatoes.
- Chop up the ginger and garlic if you are using them
- If you started with dry chickpeas, boil them. If you bought a can of boiled chickpeas, you can use them directly.
- Gather your spices
Cook
- Heat a couple of teaspoons of oil in your pot. Olive oil, sunflower oil... your choice.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, ginger and garlic.
- Toss in a pinch of salt and let the tomatoes get mushy.
- Add spices at this point. I added a pinch of chilli powder and ground coriander.
- Cook for a minute.
- Add the grains of pearl barley to the tomatoes. If you are adding rosemary, do it now.
- Pour in water at a ratio of 1 part barley to 2 parts water. If you used a cup of barley, add two cups of water.
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 12 minutes.
- After the barley has boiled, open the lid and add chickpeas.
- Cook the mixture for a minute or two.
Tip: if you are using a pressure cooker like mine, put it on high heat till the pressure indicator (not the whistle) rises up. Then, lower the heat to a minimum and cook for 12 minutes. The cooker should not whistle during cooking. You can adjust the time to get a more crunchy or more soggy result.
Serve
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Garnish with fresh coriander leaver and serve hot.
The texture is a little crunchy and a little chewy.