(serves 4-6)
This is one of my favourite basic recipes to make at home. It’s traditionally a Turkish dish called ‘Bulgur Pilaví’ and it usually accompanies kebabs and grilled dishes but I love it so much, I featured the recipe in my first book Persiana. It’s so packed full of flavour considering it relies on only a handful of ingredients but even then, I have taken the liberty of stripping a few of them back for you as they really can be made using the bare minimum of ingredients. I have, however, listed the other ingredients as an extra option for you to go with, along with other suggestions of ways to change up the recipe once you’ve had the classic a few times. To be honest, I don’t think it needs any other flavours but in the interest of versatility and variety, I’ve added a few other tips for you. Don’t forget there is a full recipe video on my IGTV channel on Instagram if you prefer the cook-a-long version of this recipe.
Ingredients
200g bulgar wheat
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of tomato purée
Oil
Salt and pepper
450ml cold water
Additional options
1 finely diced red pepper
Generous knob of butter
Alternative flavourings
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
dried herbs & spice blends
Method
Preheat a sauce pan (that has a lid) over a medium heat and soften the onions until nice and translucent. At this stage you can also add the red pepper or any other vegetable too and cook for a few minutes until softened slightly. Then add the bulgar wheat (and any additional spices or ingredients you wish to add), stir and coat in the vegetable mixture and then add the tomato purée, a very generous amount of salt and pepper (and the butter if you wish) and break down the purée and ensure it coats the bulgar wheat nice and evenly. Pour the cold water over the mixture, stir to ensure all even and cover with a lid and reduce to a gentle medium heat and cook for approximately 20-25 minutes or until the bulgar wheat is fore and the liquid fully absorbed.
Don’t stir the bulgar wheat with a spoon, instead use a fork to fluff up the grains and serve.
Leftovers are great to be turned into a salad with any fresh herbs, nuts, dried fruit or feta cheese you may have. Also you can use the cold leftovers and form little patties and shallow fry them (you can also add cheese and herbs to them) until nice and crispy or simply add the leftover to a soup base to give it a little more texture and flavour.