Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf is a healthy and delicious side dish packed with a lot of nutrition and fibre. This simple pilaf is the perfect accompaniment to some of our popular Turkish dishes such as Inegol Kofte, Turkish Chickpea Stew (Nohut Yahni) or Aubergine Meatball Wraps (Islim Kebabi). It is a very quick and easy recipe that only needs few ingredients which you probably already have in your pantry.
Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf is the delicious combination of two healthy ingredients; bulgur wheat and lentils. Bulgur wheat is a very popular ingredient widely used in Turkish and Middle Eastern cuisines. It is made from cracked and parboiled wheat grains and is available in different sizes such as fine, medium, coarse and extra coarse. Fine or medium size bulgur is ideal for salads and coarse or extra coarse is great for pilafs. You can easily find bulgur at your local supermarket or Middle Eastern markets.
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How to Cook Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf?
Cooking this delicious side dish is very easy with this simple and straightforward recipe. However, to achieve the best results you need to follow few simple steps:
- Precook the lentils – Cooking green lentils takes slightly longer than bulgur wheat. Therefore, it is necessary to precook them before mixing them with the bulgur. Place the lentils in a pan with plenty of cold water. Precook the lentils on medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Caramelize the onions and sauté the bulgur wheat – Heat a large heavy-based pan on medium heat and melt the butter. Add the olive oil and sauté the onions until soft and slightly caramelized. Add the bulgur and sauté for few minutes to achieve extra nutty flavour.
- Add the lentils and slow cook the pilaf – When the bulgur is sautéed for few minutes, add the pre-cooked green lentils along with the stock. Season it with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir the mixture until combined and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and gently simmer the pilaf for 20 minutes with the lid off. Remove the pan from the heat and let the pilaf rest for 10 minutes covered with a kitchen cloth before serving.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this delicious and nutritious lentil and bulgur pilaf as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet olsun!
Lentil and Bulgur Pilaf
Ingredients
- ½ cup green lentils (90 grams)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter (20 grams)
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 1 ⅓ cup coarse bulgur (250 grams)
- 3 ½ cups vegetable stock or chicken stock (830 ml)
- 1 TSP salt
- ½ TSP freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place the green lentils in a pan with plenty of cold water, precook them on medium heat for 20 minutes. Drain them and set them aside.
- Heat a large heavy-based pan on medium heat and melt the butter.
- Add the olive oil and onions, sauté the onions until they're soft and slightly caramelized.
- Then add the bulgur and sauté for few minutes before adding the lentils and the stock.
- Season it with salt and freshly ground black pepper, stir the mixture until combined and bring it to a boil.
- Let the pilaf gently simmer for 20 minutes on low heat with the lid off.
- Remove the pan from the heat and let it rest for 10 minutes covered with a kitchen cloth before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
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Healthy and delicious