Bulgur is a very big part of our cuisine as it becomes the main staple around Southeast of Turkey. Exactly as mentioned on The Penguin Companion to Food; Burghul (bulgur) is cracked wheat, wheat which has been parboiled, parched, and coarsely ground…
The wheat is parboiled after the harvest, dried, ground. Coarsely ground bulgur is used to make pilav, fine bulgur – ince bulgur, simit- is used for making various köfte dishes, salads like kısır, also stuffing for dolmas and simit kebabı, the finest ground is called siddi simidi or sitti simit, is literally half size of fine bulgur, fine like semolina, and do not require to be soaked in hot water.
Whenever I go to Gaziantep I stop at Petek Bakkaliyesi to buy my share of bulgur, sun dried tomato and pepper paste also other grains I love cooking with.
And there is this hole in the wall that makes bulgur pilavı and different kinds of dürüm, they always please the crowds by their pilav and their nohut dürümü…
Not to forget the famous simit kebabı of Halil Usta, mostly preferred as dürüm by the locals, filled with tomatoes and onions, how I want to have one right now!
to be continued…