Blueberry Barley Muffins

I first fell in love with barley flour in 2005 when my mother and I visited Ladakh, a north Indian state nestled between the Kunlun mountain range and the main Great Himalayas. During our week-long stay, we were fortunate to meet a very kind taxi driver named Dorje. On our final day, Dorje brought us to the small village where he and his family lived. It was late September, which meant it was time to prepare for the long, harsh winter ahead. Dorje’s family was busy harvesting the region’s staple crop – an ancient form of domesticated barley which is used to make tsampa, or roasted barley flour. In Ladakh, Tibet, and parts of Nepal, tsampa is often prepared as a nourishing porridge, added to salty butter tea, or fermented into a hearty brew. Now, whenever I cook with regular barley flour or am lucky enough to have tsampa at my favorite Tibetan restaurant in New York (which is called Tsampa), I’m reminded of my time with Dorje and his kind family high in that majestic, mountainous land.

Easy to make blueberry barley muffins.
Here I am in Ladakh, India in 2005 harvesting tsampa with Dorje (in the blue shirt) and his family. After the barley is cut, it's tossed up in the air to start separating the shaft from the grain.
As you can imagine, it's hard work! Dorje and his family worked much faster than my mother or I did.
Barley is an incredibly hearty crop that grows well at high or low altitudes. Dorje's village is about 12,000 feet above sea level!
The wind helps blow the grain away from the shaft.
Dorje's brother is a master at tsampa harvesting!
Next, the grain is sifted to remove any remaining parts of the shaft.

In addition to being delicious and versatile, barley is exceptionally nourishing. It’s also one of the world’s oldest cultivated foods, first domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 8,000 BC. This low-glycemic grain is loaded with vitamins and minerals, as well as hearty amounts soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber plays a key role in helping the body metabolize fats, cholesterol and carbohydrates, as well as lowering blood cholesterol levels. Growing evidence suggests that the high amount of beta-glucan soluble fiber present in barley can help keep blood sugar levels stable by slowing starch digestion. Insoluble fiber promotes a healthy digestive tract, which can reduce the risks of certain digestive ailments and cancers. Barley does contain gluten but not as much as wheat.

I decided to buy some barley flour the other week and then created these sugar and dairy-free blueberry muffins. They make a yummy fiber and protein rich breakfast or snack for adults and kids. Stay-tuned – I hope to blog about roasted barley flour, or tsampa, porridge soon.