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Bulgar Pilaf with Peas and Tomato

Bulgar, a wheat that has been cooked, cracked, and dried, is used in parts of the Punjab (northwestern India) to make a variety of nutritious pilafs. The coarser-grained bulgar is ideal here. Serve as you would a rice pilaf.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon very finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 medium tomato, very finely chopped
1 cup peas, fresh or frozen and defrosted
1 cup coarse bulgar wheat
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

  1. Pour the oil into a smallish but heavy pan with a tight-fitting lid and set on medium-high heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds. Ten seconds later, put in the ginger. Stir once and add the tomatoes. Stir for a minute and add the peas, bulgar, cayenne, and salt. Turn heat to medium and stir gently for a minute. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a simmer. Cover tightly, turn heat to very, very low, and cook gently for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat. Lift the lid and quickly put a dish towel over the pilaf. Cover again with the lid and leave in a warm place for 20 minutes, allowing the towel to absorb some of the moisture. Fluff up and serve.

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Excerpted from At Home with Madhur Jaffrey: Simple, Delectable Dishes from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka by Madhur Jaffrey. Copyright © 2010 by Random House. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher. Buy the full book from Amazon.
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