Barley!

BARLEY! Spring Food Favorite! This time of year, the tastes start changing. This month, I’ll be posting about some of those late winter/ early spring transition foods and how to use them.

Barley is a dry grain, but hearty when soaked and cooked well with plenty of water. It has a cleansing action on the bladder and uterus and is a go-to for congestion. Find it hulled (with the indigestible husk removed) or “pearled” which means it's been polished and had a lot of the bran removed. This makes it less fibrous, which can be a good move for Vata-type guts (personally, I digest it better), and it does retain some insoluble fibers still. If you digest it well, go for hulled barley.

Soak overnight and boil with 4 parts water the next day and some digestive spices like ginger and cumin to make a spring kanjee as you see here.