Kisir - Turkish Bulgur Salad

Kisir (kus-UHR’) is a simple, flavor-packed Turkish bulgur salad. It has some similarities to tabbouleh but definitely deserves it’s own place on a meze or lunch table with it’s wonderful tart-savory flavors. Outside of Turkey, it is described as a Turkish tabbouleh with pomegranate, but I know the description is mainly because this Turkish salad is less well known, Tabbouleh is a lovely salad but Kisir worth enjoying it for its own tasty qualities.

Kisir is a specialty in the southeast of Turkey and generally made with nar eksisi (sour pomegranate molasses) instead of lemon juice – though it is common to use lemon juice for Kisir at northwest Turkey. It can be rolled into balls and served nestling in crunchy lettuce or grape leaves. This dish is perfect for buffets or as part of a barbecue spread. It really is a “bowl of health and goodness” with fresh vegetables, bulgur – packed with fiber and pomegranate sauce full of antioxidants.

This wonderful, refreshing can be prepared a couple of days in advance and can be stored in the fridge for 4-5 days. As a matter of fact, it tastes even better a day or two later it’s made! I hope you can get to try the recipe. If you can’t find pomegranate molasses, a good balsamic vinegar and lemon juice also works well in this bulgur wheat salad. Turkish hot or sweet pepper paste, is used widely in this salad in Southern Turkish cooking; you can always make your own red pepper paste.

There are two main varieties of bulgur wheat available, fine and coarse bulgur. Fine bulgur is traditionally used in salads like kisir whereas coarse bulgur is used in pilafs. If you can’t get the fine bulgur wheat, you can also make this salad with coarse bulgur – which is my preference –  widely available in supermarkets.

In UK some people call bulgur as couscous. Even if they look the same they are different. This blog is clearly define the differences between them. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cup coarse bulgur wheat
• Salt, black pepper and paprika to taste
• 1 cup hot water
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 long green pepper (or half green bell pepper)
• 1 red romano pepper
• 2 teaspoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon hot or sweet red pepper paste
• 4 spring onions – finely chopped
• ½  bunch of parsley – finely chopped
• 1 tomato – diced
• Fresh or dried mint to taste
• Fresh or dried basil to taste
• 1 large lemon, juiced
• 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
• Grape / wine leaves or lettuce to serve

METHOD

1. Place bulgur wheat into a large bowl and add salt, black pepper and paprika, mix well
2. Pour boiling water over bulgur and cover immediately. Let it sit for 20 minutes without taking the lid off. The water will be absorbed by bulgur. 
3. In a large saucepan, sauté the onions, garlic, green pepper and romano pepper in the oil until they turn translucent – about five minutes. Add the tomato paste and pepper paste and cook over medium heat for a minute, stirring all the while with a wooden spoon. Leave them to simmer on a low heat until it smells. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bulgur.
4. Add the chopped spring onion, chopped parsley, diced tomato, season with mint and basil, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses, stir, then set aside until the salad has cooled to room temperature or is just lukewarm. 
5. Taste, adjust the seasoning as necessary – it will probably need plenty of salt

NOTES

Bulgur will absorb the water, you can always drizzle water, olive oil, lemon juice or pomegranate molasses to keep its softness.