Kisir (bulgur wheat salad)
- Prepare
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Cook
- 10 to 30 mins
- Serve
- Serves 4
Kisir is a traditional Turkish bulgur wheat salad packed with fresh herbs and spices, finished with pomegranate molasses.
Ingredients
- 150g/5½oz kisirlik (fine) bulgur wheat
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 500g/1lb 2oz onions, finely diced
- 2 tbsp pul biber
- 1 tbsp aci toz biber (hot Turkish paprika)
- 1½ tbsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
- 90g/3¼oz tatli biber salcasi (sweet pepper paste)
- 60g/2¼oz tomato purée
- ½ tbsp caster sugar
- ½ bunch fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 7 sprigs fresh mint, finely chopped
- 6 spring onions, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 3 pickled chilli peppers, finely sliced
- 1 large beef tomato, chopped
- 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 1 lemon, juice only
- pinch sea salt
Method
Place the bulgur wheat in a bowl with a mug of boiling water. Add a pinch of salt and cover the bowl with a lid or plate. Leave for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Add a few splashes of olive oil to a wide-based frying pan over a high heat and, once hot, add the onions and season with salt. Cook for 20 minutes until the onions are slowly sweated and the sweetness is released but without dark caramelisation.
Add the pul biber, aci toz biber and toasted cumin. Fry the spices for 2–3 minutes but don’t burn them.
Add both the sweet pepper and tomato paste and fry for 5 minutes. Add the sugar and check the seasoning. Take the mix out of the pan and set aside to cool.
Mix the bulgur wheat through the cooled onion mixture until it’s distributed evenly.
Mix through the herbs, spring onions, pickled chilli peppers and tomato. Finish with some oil, the pomegranate molasses and the lemon juice before serving.
