Kısır (Turkish Bulgur Salad)

Name: Kısır (Turkish Bulgur Salad)
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients: 250 g Fine bulgur (köftelik); 300 ml Boiling water; 1 tbsp (15 ml) Tomato paste; 1 tbsp (15 ml) Red pepper paste (biber salçası); 4 tbsp (60 ml) Olive oil; 2 tbsp (30 ml) Pomegranate molasses (nar ekşisi); 2 tbsp (30 ml) Lemon juice; 4 Spring onions, sliced; 1 Cucumber, finely diced; 1 Tomato, finely diced; 1 tsp (5 ml) Turkish red pepper flakes (pul biber); 0.5 tsp (2.5 ml) Ground cumin; 1 tsp (5 ml) Salt; Flat-leaf parsley; Fresh mint; Crisp lettuce leaves, to serve

Fine bulgur soaked soft and dressed red with tomato and pepper paste, sharpened with pomegranate molasses and lemon and packed with parsley, spring onion and mint — the meze scooped up in crisp lettuce leaves.

Source

Recipe by Turkish home kitchens · 🏺 Traditional · Household and neighbourhood cooking carried across Türkiye — no single author owns these dishes

Turkish · traditional dish — An ownerless traditional dish, so no individual cook is credited. The cited article documents kısır as a Turkish salad of fine bulgur dressed with tomato and pepper paste, pomegranate molasses and herbs. Quantities and step wording here are this book's own.

Background on Wikipedia ↗

Watch it being made · 2 videos

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⏱ 40 min🍽 6 servings🔥 220 kcal🇹🇷 Turkey🌶️

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Steps

Put the fine bulgur in a large bowl, pour over the boiling water, stir once, cover, and leave 20–25 minutes until the water is absorbed and the bulgur is soft.
Fluff the soaked bulgur with a fork to separate the grains, and let it cool until just warm.
In a small bowl, stir the tomato paste and red pepper paste into the olive oil until smooth.
Pour this over the bulgur and rub it through with your hands until every grain is stained red.
💡 Rubbing the paste in by hand while the bulgur is still warm is what colours and flavours it evenly.
Add the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice, pepper flakes, cumin and salt and mix well.
Fold in the spring onions, cucumber and tomato.
Add the parsley and mint and mix through.
Taste and balance: more lemon or molasses for sharpness, more salt if it tastes flat.
Let it sit 10 minutes for the flavours to meld, then fluff once more.
Line a plate with crisp lettuce leaves, pile the kısır on top, and serve at room temperature, scooping it up with the leaves.

💡 Tips

Make it a few hours ahead so the bulgur drinks up the dressing and softens fully.
No pomegranate molasses? Use extra lemon juice with a pinch of sugar to mimic the sweet-sour note.