This Turkish dish is over 4,000 YEARS old!

Yes, bulgur has been around for 4000 years, long before Türkiye or even the Ottoman empire existed. It is said that it was first eaten in ancient Mesopotamia. The Anatolian civilisation, called the Hittites, likely used early forms of bulgur. Lots of other cultures (Romans, Persians and Byzantines) had access to cracked and boiled wheat variations in their regional cuisines.

And while the Ottomans did not ‘invent’ or first discovered bulgur, they popularised dishes with it (like this dish, içli köfte and even kısır). Because the Ottoman Empire was pretty diverse (think: Balkans, Middle East & North Africa), these dishes all spread and adapted throughout those regions.

I love food more than anything & learning about them and their history is so interesting to me. Obviously I want to share those findings with you, so if you read all the way here, thank you & I’m happy to have been able to share this little moment with you 🥰

As always, here’s a list of all the ingredients I’ve used in this dish:

olive oil (you can also add or use butter)
1 onion
1 red bell pepper
carrots (2-4)
1,5 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp pepper paste
1.5 cups bulgur (washed)
1,5 tsp salt
2 tsp red chili flakes (or more, depends on how spicy you like it)
Hayfene’s Earth Spice Mix (sumac and aromatic herbs)
3.5 cups warm water (or until it covers the bulgur)

#bulgurpilav #turkishcuisine #ottomanfood #anatoliancuisine

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📖 CHAPTERS
00:00 intro

👩🏻‍🍳 ABOUT ME
I’m Serra Moon and I love cooking. I’d go as far as saying cooking is one of my love languages. I’m not a professional chef, but I aspire to be a great chef like my mom. We often cook together. Almost everything I’ve learned is thanks to her.

Being able to work with food is a blessing. I find it so calming to work on dishes, but I also know that it’s definitely a privilege to be able to do this.

Happy cooking
xo Serra

Let’s learn how to make bulgur pilavi, a simple recipe that’s a staple in turkish food. This dish uses ingredients like tomato paste, red pepper, and bulgur tarifi for a hearty and flavorful meal. You can find all the ingredients at your local mutfak!

Did you know that this dish is over 4,000 years old? And today it’s a staple in Turkish cuisine. Let’s make bulgar pilavva. First, peel and chop one onion. Do the same with one carrot. So, peel it and then dice it. And then chop up one red bell pepper. And that’s it for the prep. In a large pan, heat some olive oil and saute the onions until they start to soften. Then add in the red pepper. Give it a good stir. And then toss in the carrots and keep sautéing everything together. Then add your tomato paste and a little bit of red pepper paste if you have some. I’m also adding some Turkish chili flakes at this stage because they bring a gentle heat. Then toast the tomato paste until it starts smelling rich and sweet. This part really builds the flavor. Then add your washed bulgar and mix well. For the spices, I’m keeping it simple by only adding salt and then 2 and 1/2 teaspoons of this earth spice mix. I honestly think this blend goes so well with bular. Then pour in water, let it come to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer until the bular is cooked. Once that is done, turn off the heat and let it steam with the lid on for another 10 minutes or