Bulgur rice/ Bulgur pilaf
The lebanese or Turkish restaurants that we visit here, often serve this amazing tasting Bulgur rice/Bulgur pilaf with the grilled meats. Bulgur rice is made from Bulgur wheat which is a whole wheat grain that is cracked and partially precooked. It is used in all sorts of side dishes, soup, pilafs, casseroles, and salads (grain salads and also added to green salads)and added to meat dishes like kibbeh and meatloaf, to boost nutrition and bulk them up. Quite nutritious, it is high in fibre and low in fat although as it is wheat, it is not gluten-free.
Bulgur Wheat comes in the fine and coarse varieties in the super marked. Typically the fine variety is used to make salads and does not require any additional cooking. However the coarse variety, traditionally used to make the pilaf requires some cooking even though the wheat is parboiled.
It is usually served with the kebabs, sis kebab or the adani kebabs served on a bed of lavash bread with a side of salad, yoghurt and sliced onions sprinkled with sumac. We absolutely love it and keep ordering the bulgur rice just to eat it as is. It is traditionally also served with a plain yoghurt salad. The mix of tomatoes and red peppers in the cooking gives this dish a lovely red hue. To spice up things a bit, I substituted the tomato paste required in the recipe with same amount of Indian style tomato pickle or tomato thokku and boy was it a winner!!! Give it a try, it is a good recipe to have at hand when you want to switch from the usual rice, wheat or pasta dishes.
It is quite a simple recipe with just a few ingredients required
Bulgur Rice
Ingredients
- 1 cup bulgur wheat coarse variety
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 medium size tomato chopped or 1/2 can of tomatoes
- 1/2 cup red & pepper chopped
- 1-2 garlic cloves chopped optional
- 1 tbsp tomato paste substitute with indian tomato pickle/thokku
- 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas optional
- 1 and 1/2 cup low sodium/organic vegetable stock substitute with chicken stock
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a deep sauce pan, heat olive oil and add onions, garlic and pepper. Saute for a few minutes until the onions have started to soften
- Add the tomatoes along with the tomato paste or tomato thokku and stir around for a couple of minutes
- Add the washed bulgur wheat and stir around for a couple of minutes
- Turn the heat to high, add the stock and season with salt and pepper, bringing the mix to a boil
- As soon as the bulgur wheat comes to a boil, turn the heat to medium-low and place a lid on the pan
- Simmer the bulgur wheat for at least 10-15 minutes or until all the juices have been absorbed. Add the cooked chickpeas
- Turn off the heat and let it rest for a 5 minutes. Fluff the bulgur wheat with a fork and sprinkle over the chopped parsley