Bulgur (from tr, bulgur, itself from fa, بلغور, bolġur (bolghur)/balġur (balghur), groats ), also riffoth (from biblical he, ריפות, riffoth) and burghul (from ar, برغل, burġul ), is a cracked wheat dish found in West Asian cuisine.

Characteristics

Bulgur is sometimes confused with cracked wheat, which is crushed wheat grain that, unlike bulgur, has not been parboiled. Bulgur is a common ingredient in cuisines of many countries of the West Asian cuisine and Mediterranean Basin. It has a light, nutty flavor. Bulgur is recognized as a

whole grain A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. As part of a general healthy diet, consumption of whole grains is associated ...

by the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

Composition and nutrition

Cooked bulgur is 78% water, 19%

carbohydrate In organic chemistry, a carbohydrate () is a biomolecule consisting of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O) atoms, usually with a hydrogen–oxygen atom ratio of 2:1 (as in water) and thus with the empirical formula (where ''m'' may or m ...

s, 3%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...

, and contains negligible

fat In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specifically to triglycerides (triple est ...

(table). A 100 gram (3.5 oz) reference serving supplies 83 calories, with no micronutrients in appreciable amounts of the

Daily Value The Reference Daily Intake (RDI) used in nutrition labeling on food and dietary supplement products in the U.S. and Canada is the daily intake level of a nutrient that is considered to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97–98% of healthy ...

(table).

Culinary uses

Bulgur does not require cooking, although it can be included in cooked dishes; soaking in water is all that is needed. Coarse bulgur is used to make

pottage Pottage or potage (, ; ) is a term for a thick soup or stew made by boiling vegetables, grains, and, if available, meat or fish. It was a staple food for many centuries. The word ''pottage'' comes from the same Old French root as ''potage'', whi ...

s, while the medium and fine grains are used for breakfast

cereals A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

, salads such as

kısır Kısır is a bulgur based salad found in Turkish cuisine. The main ingredients are finely ground bulgur, parsley, and tomato paste. Common additional ingredients include onion, garlic (in some regions), sour pomegranate molasses, olive oil and ...

pilav Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techni ...

s, breads, and in dessert puddings such as ''

kheer Kheer, also known as payasam, is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur w ...

''. Bulgur porridge is similar to

frumenty Frumenty (sometimes ''frumentee'', ''furmity'', ''fromity'', or ''fermenty'') was a popular dish in Western European medieval cuisine. It is a porridge, a thick boiled grain dish—hence its name, which derives from the Latin word ''frumentum'', ...

, a cracked wheat porridge that was a staple of

medieval cuisine Medieval cuisine includes foods, eating habits, and cooking methods of various European cultures during the Middle Ages, which lasted from the fifth to the fifteenth century. During this period, diets and cooking changed less than they did in t ...

. In breads, it adds a whole-grain component. It is a main ingredient in

kibbeh Kibbeh (, also kubba and other spellings; ar, كبة, kibba; tr, içli köfte) is a family of dishes based on spiced ground meat, onions, and grain, popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. In Levantine cuisine, kibbeh is usually made by pounding ...

and, soaked but not cooked, in

tabbouleh Tabbouleh ( ar, تبولة, translit=tabbūla; also tabouleh, tabbouli, tabouli, or taboulah) is a Levantine salad made mostly of finely chopped parsley, with tomatoes, mint, onion, bulgur (soaked, not cooked), and seasoned with olive oil, lemon ...

salad. It is often used where

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

couscous Couscous ( '; ber, ⵙⴽⵙⵓ, translit=Seksu) – sometimes called kusksi or kseksu – is a Maghrebi dish of small steamed granules of rolled durum wheat semolina that is often served with a stew spooned on top. Pearl millet, sorghum, ...

could be used. In Indian and Pakistani cuisine, bulgur is often used as a cereal to make a porridge with milk and sugar, or a savory porridge with vegetables and spices. It can be used to accompany other dishes in the same way as pasta or rice; it may be mistaken for rice because it has a similar appearance, although the texture is different. The Kurdish word for groats is ''şile''.

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

prepare bulgur as a pilaf in chicken stock, with or without sautéed noodles, or cooked with tomatoes, onions, herbs and red pepper. The fine grind is used for making

eech Eetch (otherwise known as eech, itch, metch or one of several other variations) is a traditional Armenian side dish, salad or spread, similar to tabbouleh. Eetch can be eaten either at room temperature or warm. Its typical red colour is derive ...

, a bulgur salad similar to tabbouleh, prepared with tomato paste, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, olive oil, and other salad ingredients to personal taste. Pomegranate molasses, which is sour and sweet, is commonly used instead of lemon juice to add tartness. A variety of

meze Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levantine cuisine, Levant, Turkish cuisine, Turkey, Greek cuisine, Greece, the Balkan cuisine, Balkans, the Caucasian cuisine, Caucasus and Iranian cuisine, Iran. It i ...

s and main dishes are prepared. In Cyprus, it is known as "πουρκούρι" (poorkoori) and is used to make "κούπες" (koopehs, also known as ''bulgur köftesi'' in Cypriot Turkish), a variety of kibbeh. Its crust is usually made of bulgur wheat, flour, oil, salt and egg, then filled with ground meat (beef and/or pork), onions, parsley and spices. There is also vegetarian "κούπες" which substitutes the ground meat with chopped mushrooms. The Saudi Arabian version of bulgur, popular in

Nejd Najd ( ar, نَجْدٌ, ), or the Nejd, forms the geographic center of Saudi Arabia, accounting for about a third of the country's modern population and, since the Emirate of Diriyah, acting as the base for all unification campaigns by the H ...

and Al-Hasa, is known as ''jarish''.

References

{{Authority control Arab cuisine Mediterranean cuisine Cypriot cuisine Assyrian cuisine Lebanese cuisine Levantine cuisine Jordanian cuisine Syrian cuisine Palestinian cuisine Western Armenian cuisine Wheat Staple foods Turkish words and phrases Iranian cuisine Israeli cuisine Kurdish cuisine Vegetarian dishes of India

Characteristics

Composition and nutrition

Culinary uses

See also

References