Barley Lemonade A Refreshing And Healthy Summer Drink

Who doesn’t love the bright sunny days? We all enjoy the outdoors, pool parties, picnics, BBQs, but we need to make sure we are staying hydrated to beat the summer heat. Let’s say no to the sugar-filled aerated drinks and make some healthy beverages at home. I am sure you will like my Indian style spicy lemonade, Limonana (Mint Lemonade) Recipe, limeade with basil seeds, rose sharbat, nannari sarbath and of course the humble buttermilk. I am so happy to add the barley lemonade to that lot as well.

Pearl Barley:

We all know that fermented barley is the main ingredient in beer and alcoholic beverages. But the nutty flavored cereal which resembles like wheat berries has much more to offer. According to WHFoods, it is a good source of minerals, dietary fiber, vitamin B1, and niacin. Barley has a lot of medicinal benefits. It is known to flush out the toxins from our body, thereby curing any urinary tract infections. It is a natural coolant, and also according to this article, the fiber from barley helps to lower the cholesterol. So let’s make use of barley and use it in our everyday cooking. You can find barley soup, puffed barley snack on my blog as well. Now let’s talk about the barley water.

How to make barley water?

Barley water preparation is very straight-forward. You need to simmer the rinsed barley in water till the water reduces to half in quantity. Filter the water and that’s it, your barley water is ready. You can make lemonade or limeade or relish it as is with a pinch of salt. And with the cooked barley, you can make some salad or add into your soups. I have few recipes coming up with that, so stay tuned.

How to make barley water lemonade:

I made spicy lemonade with the barley water more like shikanji by adding lemon juice, pepper powder, Indian black salt, and sugar to balance out the flavors. But you can make lemonade according to your preference. If you like this style and wondering what is black salt or black salt substitutions and there here are the options.

Indian Black salt and the alternative:

If you are not able to source it, you can replace it with regular salt and for the flavor, add roasted cumin powder. For this recipe, you can add 1 tsp of salt and ½ tsp of cumin powder instead of black salt. If you can source, chaat masala, you can use that too. Now without any further ado, here is how I made my barley water and the shikanji. Ingredients:

For barley water ½ cup pearl barley 4 cups of water For the lemonade (the below measure is for 2 cups of barley water) 2 tbsp lemon juice 2 tsp sugar ½ tsp ground black pepper 5 tsp black salt

Steps:

Rinse the pearl barley at least twice and drain the water. In a saucepan, add the cereal and 4 cups of water.

Simmer it over medium heat for 30 minutes or until the liquid reduces to half in quantity.

Filter out the water, and you will get about 2 to 2.5 cups of barley water and allow it to cool. When barley water is cooled down, add the lemon juice, sugar, ground pepper, and black salt. Mix until the sugar dissolves. Refrigerate and serve cold. You can add ice-cubes also.

Notes-

As mentioned in the post, you can use regular salt and cumin powder or chaat masala instead of black salt. There is no set recipe for the lemonade; you can adjust the sugar, salt, and spice according to your preference. If you feel the barley water too, concentrated, then do not let the water to reduce in half the measure. Just simmer the barley until it comes to a rolling boil. Then turn off the heat and strain the liquid. Depending upon the barley water measure, adjust the lemonade condiments. The above quantity is for two cups of barley water.