ABOUT:
Kisir or qisir is a traditional side dish in Turkish cuisines.
This salad is made with fine bulgur, pepper paste and fresh vegetables and herbs. Bulgur is a cereal food made from the groats of several different wheat species, most often from durum wheat. Burghul is a kind of dried cracked wheat.
Kisir has a reddish color due to tomato paste admixture. It can be eaten cold and used as a salad or meze.
Recipe Cook Time: 25 mins.
INGREDIENTS:
1) 2 cups fine bulgur.
2) 2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped.
3) 2 cups boiling water.
4) 2 medium cucumbers, finely chopped.
5) 1 medium onion, finely chopped.
6) 1 clove garlic, finely chopped.
7) 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.
8) 1 heaping tablespoon sweet red pepper paste.
9) 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh mint.
10) 1/4 cup lemon juice or pomegranite sour.
11) Italian parsley.
12) 6 to 8 green onions.
13) 1 teaspoon Salt or as per taste.
14) 1/2 teaspoon black pepper.
15) 1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes or as per taste.
METHOD:
1) Put the bulgur in a large mixing bowl. Pour the boiling water over it. The water should completely cover the bulgur by about 1/4 inch. If one cup isn't enough, add a bit more water. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap, then wrap it with a towel. Set it aside for about 15 minutes to allow the bulgur soften.
2) Mix the chopped onion and garlic with the pepper paste and set aside.
3) Remove the cloth and cover from the bowl of bulgur. Wearing rubber gloves, fluff the bulgur up with your fingers. Drizzle the vegetable oil over the top and toss it through with your fingers. Next add the pepper paste mixture and work it evenly through the bulgur.
4) Add the chopped vegetables and spices and continue tossing with your fingers until all the ingredients are evenly dispersed.
5) Add more salt and black pepper if needed.
SUGGESTION:You can serve your 'kisir' salad right away, or you can cover and refrigerate it for several hours before serving.
Just make sure to fluff it up with your fingers again just before serving.
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