Bulgur pilaf cu legume – Sebzeli bulgur pilavi

Sau varianta la propriu, cu bulgur, a vorbei ” stricam orzul pe gaste” 🙂

Bulgurul este o specie de grau decorticat spart care credeam ca este total necunoscut in Romania. Dar, asa cum am aflat in timpul unei calatorii la tara, se pare ca, si mai grav, este cunoscut ca o solutie buna pentru hranirea… pasarilor. (din categoria, suntem saraci dar fancy :)). Sotul meu, inca rade cand le povesteste conationalilor lui turci cum romanii n-au habar de acest minunat ingredient si cei care au il desconsidera total. Eu sper totusi ca o sa-i mai dam o sansa.

O sa vi-l prezint mai in detaliu intr-un post viitor – imediat ce o sa cumpar si cealalta varianta, ince bulgur, ca sa le putem fotografia si compara .

Azi, din seria mancare turceasca, vreau impartasesc cu voi reteta uneia dintre mancarurile de baza in Turcia, bulgurul cu legume, care in este gatita on daily basis in majoritatea restaurantelor turcesti ca si garnitura alaturi de pirinc pilav. Eu o numesc, (daca va ajunge pe meniul din casele voastre o sa intelegeti) mancarea pe care o faci daca ai frigiderul aproape gol, doar cu vreo 2-3 biete legume care sufera de singuratate.

Ingrediente:

bulgur – cel cu bob mare – 2 cani
2 ardei – unul rosu si unul verde
1 ceapa
1 morcov
naut fiert in prealabil sau din conserva – o cana
mazare – eu am folosit congelata dar puteti folosi proaspata – o cana
ulei de masline – 5 linguri
apa fierbinte
pasta de rosii passata – 3 linguri
pasta de ardei – eu am folosit iute dar puteti folosi si dulce in functie de gusturi – 1 lingura
sare de mare
piper negru proaspat macinat
menta uscata/ patrunjel proaspat – pentru presarat deasupra

Incepeti cu calitul cepei, dupa care adaugati morcovul si ardeiul. Lasati-le cam 5 minute pana se inmoaie, dupa care adaugati pasta de tomate si pasta de ardei. Dupa alte 5 minute, in care e bine sa amestecati destul de des, adaugati nautul si bulgurul (spalat bine in prealabil). Toata amestecatura trebuie sa ramana cam 10 minute sa se prajeasca/ innabuse, deoarece exact aceasta operatiune da gust mancarii, trust me! 😉 Amestecati destul de des, pentru ca bulgurul are talentul de a se lipi. Urmatoarea etapa este adaugarea apei fierbinti. Nivelul apei e bine sa depaseasca cam cu 1 -2 cm cel al amestecului mai sus pomenit. Mai amestecarti o data, ca sa convingeti bulgurul de tot sa nu se lipeasca, si acoperiti cu un capac. De obicei cam 20 de minute sunt necesare ca sa fiarba, dar verificati pentru ca mai pot fi variatii, nu mari dar..da. :). Consistenta bulgurului fiert este asemanatoare cu a orezului (tot fiert :)). Ar trebui ca atunci cand este absorbita toata apa sa fie fierte toate ingredientele. Daca nu, mai adaugati cate putina, la nevoie. In acest timp, cam cu 10 minute inainte sa fie gata pilaful, puteti adauga si mazarea. Mie imi place mai fresh, din acest motiv o adaug ultima, dar voi o puteti adauga si inainte de a turna apa, dupa cum va place mai mult. Dupa ce toate ingredientele sunt fierte, opriti focul si lasati pilaful acoperit cu capacul inca 10 minute. Doar atat, nu e mare filozofie, si daca invatati acest pilaf se deschide o noua lume, full of bulgur-related opportunities 🙂 .

Puteti gasi un scurt video pentru etapele retetei aici:

TIPS :

1. Orice orez, fie el orez normal sau bulgur trebuie lasat acoperit cam 10 minute dupa ce a fiert, timp in care volumul boabelor mai creste, iar pilaful/ risotto-ul devine mai consistent Acest lucru trebuie luat in considerare atunci cand finalizam mancarea, deoarece consistenta ei finala va fi mai groasa decat cea din momentul stingerii focului.

2. Bulgurul se gaseste in magazinele turcesti sau arabesti, si in unele supermarketuri la sectiunea de mancaruri exotice. Pentru aceasta reteta trebuie sa cereti bulgur mare, nu cel spart mic si prefiert. Va vor ajuta la fata locului daca mergeti sa intrebati.

3. Puteti folosi aproape orice legume aveti, cu conditia sa le taiati in bucati mici si sa luati in considerare timpul de fierbere. De ex. vinete proaspete – se adauga o data cu morcovul, rosii date prin razatoare sau taiate in bucati mici, in loc de pasta de tomate, fasole verde, etc.

Afyet olsun! 🙂

Bulgur is a species of wheat which I initially thought is totally unknown in Romania. But, as I learned during a trip to the country side, it seems that it’s worst, it is known, but as a good solution for feeding … poultry (we are poor but fancy 🙂). My husband still laughs when he is telling his fellow Turks how some Romanians have no idea about this wonderful ingredient and others disregard it altogether, giving it to chicken and not even thinking of eating it themselves. I still hope that we‘ll give it another chance, so, here we go:

I’ll introduce it to you in more detail in a future post – as soon as i will buy the other type, ince bulgur so I can show you the difference.

Today I will share with you the recipe of one of the basic foods in Turkey, bulgur with vegetables, which is cooked on daily basis in most restaurants as a garnish, together with Turkish rice – Pirinc pilav. I call it, (if you will include it in your home-cooking, you will understand) – the food that you cook if your fridge is almost empty, with only 2-3 poor vegetables, suffering for loneliness.

Ingredients :

Bulgur –2 cups
Two peppers – red and green
1 onion
1 carrot
chickpeas – boiled in advance or canned – 1 cup
peas – I used frozen but you can use fresh – 1 cup
olive oil – about 5 tbsp
hot water
mashed tomato paste – passata – 3 tbs
pepper paste – I used hot but you can use sweet, depending on your taste – 1 tbs
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
dried mint / fresh parsley – for sprinkling

Start with frying the onion, then add the carrot and peppers . Leave to cook for about 5 minutes until soft, then add tomato paste and pepper paste. After another 5 minutes, during which it’s not a bad idea to stir often, add the chickpeas and bulgur (washed well in advance). The mix must remain about 10 minutes to fry because exactly this operation flavors the food, trust me! ;) Stir often, because bulgur has the ability to stick to the pan. 🙂 The next step is to add hot water. The water level should exceed with about 1 -2 cm the above mentioned mixture.Stir once more to convince all bulgur not to stick, and then cover the pan with a lid. Usually about 20 minutes more are required for this pilaf to cook, but check, because there can be variations . The consistency of cooked bulgur is similar to rice (also…cooked :)). During this time, about 10 minutes before it’s ready, you can add the peas. I like my peas as fresh as possible, so that’s why I add them last, but you can add them also before adding the water. When all the water is absorbed all the ingredients should be ready. If not, add a little more water if necessary. After it’s done, turn off the heat and let the pilaf sit with the closed lid for another 10 minutes. And that’s all folks! 🙂 No big deal, and if you learn this pilaf, it opens a whole new world, full of bulgur-related opportunities 🙂.

TIPS :

1. Either rice or bulgur should generally be left covered about 10 minutes after turning off the stove, and during this while the volume grows and pilaf / risotto becomes thicker . This should be taken into account because its final consistency will be harder than the one when you turned off the stove.

2. You can find bulgur in Turkish or Arabic shops, in the supermarkets in the foreign foods section. For this recipe you should seek big bulgur , not the one small broken, boiled and dried. The market employees will help spot it if you ask.

3. You can use almost any vegetable you have, provided you cut them into small pieces and consider how long it takes them to cook. Eg. fresh eggplant, added the same time with the carrot, grated or chopped tomatoes chopped into small pieces instead of tomato paste, green beans, etc. After you try it once, you will understand how you like it and then you will add the quantities according to what taste or texture you want to dominate.