Friday, December 9, 2011

Armenian Bulghour Pilaf - Three Variations on a Theme

Marash Girl's simply delicious bulghour pilaf:

Finely chop or slice one large yellow onion (after peeling, of course); In a heavy leCreuset pot or the like, saute onions unhtil golden in approx. 1/4 c. olive oil.  Add 1 cup MEDIUM bulghour.  Saute til color changes slightly.  Add 1 can V-8 juice and 1/4 c. water (for a total of  1 3/4 c. of liquid).  Bring to boil, stirring.  Turn off heat and leave mixture to sit in pot, covered, for about 20 minutes.  Perfect bulghour pilaf.

A variation on the above:  

Fancy bulghour pilaf:  In heavy pot, saute one chopped onion, one chopped green peppers, one chopped tomato, add one cup medium bulghour and saute for a minute.  Add 1 3/4 c. chicken broth.  Salt to taste.  Bring to boil, stirring.  Turn off heat and leave mixture to sit in heavy pot, covered, for about 20 minutes.

Traditional Armenian bulghour pilaf. 

In heavy pot, saute a handful of fine vermicelli (shehreh), broken into pieces in 1/4 c. olive or butter or a combination of the two. Add 1 c. medium bulghour; saute.  Add 2 c. chicken broth and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and leave mixture to sit in heavy pot, covered, for about 20 minutes.

N.B.
1) Make sure you purchase your bulghour from a Middle Eastern (preferably Armenian, of course) Grocery Store.  DO NOT purchase bulghour from the natural foods store, because it's not the right thing and your dish will not come out the way it should.

2) Marash Girl's mother and grandmothers used to simmer the boulghour pilaf for 15 minutes, but that's not necessary when you use a covered heavy pot, especially in the light of going green and avoiding the possibility of burning the pilaf!

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