Local name: Kısır
The Turkish bulgur salad, fine bulgur swollen in tomato and pepper paste, brightened with mint, parsley and pomegranate molasses.
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Photo: E4024, CC BY-SA 4.0
Unlike Lebanese tabbouleh, kısır is first and foremost a bulgur salad, with the herbs as seasoning. It keeps well and travels easily for a picnic.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
Kisir is first and foremost a bulgur salad with herbs as seasoning, while Lebanese tabbouleh is a herb salad in which bulgur is a minor part. The proportions are reversed, and kisir adds tomato paste, pepper paste and pomegranate molasses.
No, fine bulgur simply swells under 250 ml of boiling water, covered, for ten minutes. Medium or coarse bulgur will not work this way and stays hard in the middle.
Working it by hand into still-warm bulgur is what drives the colour and flavour into every grain. Stirred with a spoon, the paste sits on the surface and the salad looks streaked rather than evenly red.
What actually saves time on a weeknight: a hot pan instead of an oven, rinsed tinned pulses, one loud aromatic, and a starch cooking while you work.
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