Bulgur Pilaf with Chickpeas
Bulgur pilaf with chickpeas is a great side dish with an earthy, nutty flavour.
About Bulgur Pilaf with Chickpeas
Bulgur pilaf plays a big part in Turkish cuisine. It’s one of the staples of every Turkish dinner table.
SERVES 5 – 6
PREP TIME: 5 MINS
COOK TIME: 30 MINS + 10 MINS REST TIME
As an alternative to rice, bulgur pilaf is very easy and quick to make. Thanks to its fibrous structure, it is very healthy and at the same time very satisfying. At home, we serve it as a side dish with mostly stews. At restaurants, you would find bulgur pilaf accompanying most kebabs. It goes well with a dollop of yoghurt, cacık (tzatziki) or Turkish shepherd’s salad (çoban salatası).
Some Tips & Suggestion for Making Great Bulgur Pilaf with Chickpeas
- There are different varieties of bulgur. The type of bulgur you need for this dish is coarse bulgur. You can learn more about bulgur here.
- Cracked wheat and bulgur are often confused. Bulgur is parboiled whereas cracked wheat is raw and it takes longer to cook. When buying, make sure you order coarse bulgur, not cracked wheat. Here’s some more information on this: Is bulgur different to cracked wheat?
- Instead of adding the butter at the beginning, alternatively you can melt the butter in a pan and pour it over the bulgur pilaf right at the end after it’s absorbed all the water. Stir it well and serve. This way you can feel the distinct taste of butter.
- You can replace the can of chopped tomatoes with finely diced 1 big, red, juicy beefsteak tomato.
- You can make this dish without the chickpeas as well. Just cook the bulgur for 15 minutes without disturbing.
- Once it’s cooked, let the pilaf rest for 10 minutes or so covered with a tea towel. This step is crucial to have a fluffy bulgur. Because the tea towel absorbs and traps the steam and moisture. Otherwise, the moisture will drip back into the bulgur and will make it soggy.
- You can freeze leftover bulgur pilaf in an air tight container for up to three months.
- We used to buy bulgur in bulk from an open source. As a child it was my duty to sort through the wheat to ensure no debris or stones were in bulgur. I haven’t come across any debris in packed bulgur but it’s best to keep an eye on it!
- For best bulgur pilaf, the bulgur ratio is 1 cup bulgur: 2 cups water.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 25 g butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 125 g (3/4 cup) coarse bulgur wheat (see note)
- 1/2 tbsp hot pepper paste (see note)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste (double concentrated tomato purée – see note)
- 200 g (1 cup) canned chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (see note)
- 250 ml (a little more than a cup) hot water
- 140 g (1 cup) canned chickpeas
- Salt & blackpepper to taste
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1
Wash the bulgur in a sieve, under cold water.
Step 2
Heat the oil and butter in a non-stick saucepan. Sauté the chopped onion until it becomes soft.
Step 3
Combine the tomato paste and pepper paste with onions. Whilst stirring, sauté the two pastes for a few minutes until they turn a deep maroon colour and become more concentrated.
Step 4
Stir in red pepper flakes.
Step 5
Add chopped tomatoes and let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until its liquid is reduced.
Step 6
Add the bulgur and sauté for further few minutes.
Step 7
Pour hot water over the bulgur. Bring it to a boil, cover with a lid and cook it over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. During this time, avoid stirring the pilaf.
Step 8
Combine the chickpeas with bulgur. Stir it, put the lid back on and cook it for 5 more minutes until it absorbs all of its water.
Step 9
Once it’s cooked, cover the saucepan with a tea towel with the lid placed over the top for 10-15 minutes. By doing this, the tea towel will absorb any excess moisture.
Step 10
Fluff with a fork and serve.
Goes Well With
- Runner Beans in Olive Oil
- Dried Okra Stew with Lamb
- Grilled Chicken
- Sautéed Meat
- Stews
- Kebabs
- Turkish Shepherd Salad
- Cacık (Tzatziki)
- Ayran (a cold Turkish yoghurt drink)
Notes
Coarse Bulgur: It is available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. If you can’t get hold of coarse bulgur (pilavlık bulgur), you can use medium coarse bulgur which is available in all big supermarkets but you will need to reduce the cooking time by 2-3 minutes. The flavour may also be less nutty and have less depth with medium coarse bulgur.
Hot pepper paste: It is available in Waitrose, online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Hot pepper paste is a thick deep red paste made by blending together cooked red peppers, chillies, olive oil and salt. Then to desiccate all the juices, they are dried in the sun. This deepens the colour and intensifies the flavour. A small amount is enough to give a spicy, rich texture to dishes. It is used mainly in the southeast of Turkey. There is no substitute but you can omit it.
Tomato paste: It is available online as well as in Turkish and Middle Eastern shops. Tomato paste is basically cooked down and concentrated tomatoes. It is used mainly in the southeast of Turkey. Having roots in Urfa and Gaziantep, admittedly I do use it quite a lot in my cooking. You can substitute with double concentrated tomato purée which is widely available in supermarkets.
Red pepper flakes: These flakes have a moderate heat. You can find them in Turkish or Middle Eastern shops. Ground cayenne powder can be used as a substitute. Use half as much ground cayenne to achieve the same level of heat. You can find more information about this here.
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