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Is it possible to cook tarhonya (Hungarian egg barley) in a pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, to cut down on cooking time? The only pressure cooker recipe I've found neglects to mention the cooking time, and also doesn't mention sautéeing it first, which I find strange.

If pressure cooking after the sautée isn't a good idea, can I instead use a rice cooker (or the rice-cooker function of my multi-cooker)? Or is cooking tarhonya fundamentally different from cooking rice?

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To cook tarhonya in a pressure cooker or an Instant Pot, follow these directions:

Ingredients: 1 cup tarhonya 1.5 cups water 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil A pinch of salt (The recipe is easily scalable using the ratio of 1 cup tarhonya : 1.5 cups water, e.g. you'd use 3 cups of water for 2 cups of tarhonya)

Instructions:

  1. Lightly brown tarhonya in oil (you could use the instant pot's sautee or stew function for this)
  2. Add the water and the salt to the tarhonya.
  3. Put on the lid of the pressure cooker and seal tighly.
  4. Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes (you can also use the manual or rice functions on the Instant Pot.
  5. After 8 minutes, keep the vent in seal position for 5-10 minutes, then slowly release the pressure. Enjoy!
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  • I normally cook my tarhonya in chicken or beef stock instead of just salted water, so in your recipe, instead of a pinch of salt, I added a teaspoon and a half of chicken stock powder, and it came out great.
    – Psychonaut
    Nov 10, 2022 at 21:20
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I'm not sure on pressure cooker, since tarhonya (as rice) doesn't take that much time to cook and I usually use pressure cooker on food that needs quite a long time (beef, pork, goulash, ...) when I need to cut this time.

So, how I prepare it, is quite simple - and I must admit I really like tarhonya. You need to have the tarhonya:water ratio 2:3. You need to dry roast tarhonya in hot pot until it gets nice brown (it's pasta really, so when raw it should be very fair beige yellow-y) - just be patient and stir ocassionaly. When the colour is nice brown, add oil (i'd use as many tablespoons of oil as I used cups or tarhonya) and salt, then add the water and put the lid on. When the water boils, lower the temperature and let it cook for about 10-15 mins. You should clearly see little cavities on the surface of tarhonya, that's where the water evaporated through. Take the pot off of the stove, put in on or wrap it in a kitchen towel and let sit for another 20 minutes (without opening the lid).

You should by now have beautiful, brown-y, moist side dish to meat or vegetables or anything, really.

So you can see that use of pressure cooker would be really unncessary and maybe even impossible - but if you discover some way, let me know!

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  • Pressure cooking rice is relatively common.
    – Batman
    Sep 27, 2017 at 14:47
  • Yes, it was just my preference (it also depends on rice type). Should've written it clearer.
    – Ginny The Grey
    Sep 27, 2017 at 15:22
  • cont: But I still think tarhonya is better to be cooked in pot you see in and can manipulate with easier.
    – Ginny The Grey
    Sep 27, 2017 at 16:31
  • Should've written it clearer. You can edit your answer.
    – user34961
    Sep 28, 2017 at 7:52

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