Bulgur Pilaf nutty, chewy, earthy- whole grain, fiber rich- Bulgur pilaf is an incredibly delicious alternative to cooked rice or quinoa making it an excellent grain to add in your grain bowl. Turkish Bulgur also called Kisir is made with cracked whole grain wheat berries that are partially cooked and dried. This makes it easy, convenient to cook—because the cracked wheat berries are partially cooked (a bit instant rice), so all you need to do is rehydrate and finish cooking them.
Ingredients
- Bulgur: look for coarse bulgur. Something like this should work. Also checkout your local Middle Eastern market, they’re normally better priced and have more choice.
- Olive oil
- Ground Cumin
- Tomato paste
- Water or Broth
- Onion
- Roast pepper paste
- Fresh veggies of your choice: peas, bell pepper, green onion. we kept it plain for this recipe.
How To Cook Bulgur for Pilaf
Saute the onions and veggies including spices in olive oil. I stick to following the instructions on the package to cook perfectly. To make bulgur salad, precook and allow it to cool to room temperature. To serve as a side dish keep it warm. Because cooking times vary, the instructions in the recipe is based on the package instructions of the brand I used. It normally takes about 8-10 minutes for coarse bulgur to cook. To cook 1 cup of dry coarse bulgur wheat, you’ll need 1 ½ cups of liquid water or broth. You’ll end up with about 2 cups of cooked bulgur for 1 cup dry bulgur.
Fine bulgur wheat (used for tabouli salad ) doesn’t need to be cooked at all, and can be soaked for 10 to 15 minutes to hydrate.
Bulgur is not gluten-free, if you’re gluten intolerant, you should avoid bulgur.
Turkish Bulgur Pilaf, Kisir
Ingredients
- 2 cup coarse Bulgur
- 3 cups veggie broth or water
- 1 medium onion, chopped about ¾ cups
- 2-3 stalks green onion
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 whole roasted red bell pepper, drained and pureed, from a jar or use paste
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1-2 cloves garlic chopped, optional
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- kosher salt and black pepper as needed
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan warm the olive oil and add chopped onion. Saute until translucent about 5 minutes.
- Add cumin and garlic if using. Mix.
- Add the bulgur and gently mix to coat the grain with the flavor oil. Toast for a minute, this will prevent it from getting sticky.
- Add the tomato paste, red pepper paste and broth. Make sure you mix it well so there are not clumps. season and bring it up to a boil.
- Simmer, cover and cook undisturbed for 8 to 10 minutes or per the instructions on the package. Check for doneness and take it off the heat. Keep it covered and let it rest for 5 minutes before serving. enjoy garnished with green onions.
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