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A bowl of Turkish kisir made with fine bulgur, herbs, tomatoes, and cucumbers, served with lemon wedges, lettuce leaves, and cucumber slices.
5 from 1 vote

Kisir (Turkish Bulgur Salad)

By Zerrin & Yusuf
Kisir is a fresh and flavorful Turkish bulgur salad made with fine bulgur, tomato and pepper paste, herbs, lemon juice, and pomegranate molasses. It is slightly spicy, tangy, easy to make, and perfect for tea parties, quick lunches, and gatherings.
Yields: 4 servings
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PREP 20 minutes
COOK 5 minutes
TOTAL 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS
  

  • 200 grams fine bulgur (1 cup) red, brown or white
  • 1 teaspoon dried mint
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon pul biber Turkish red pepper flakes
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 250 ml boiling water (1 cup)
  • 80 ml olive oil (⅓ cup) (see note 2)
  • 1 large onion finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ½ tablespoon pepper paste (see note 3)
  • 1 medium lemon squeezed (see note 4)
  • 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses (see note 5)
  • 4 green onions finely chopped
  • 1 medium tomato finely chopped (optional)
  • 1 medium cucumber finely chopped
  • ½ cup parsley finely chopped
  • ¼ cup fresh dill finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint finely chopped
  • 1 head lettuce to serve

INSTRUCTIONS
 

  • Put the bulgur and spices in a large bowl. Pour the hot water over them, give everything a stir, and cover the bowl with a lid or kitchen towel. Let it sit for about 10 minutes until the bulgur softens.
  • Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the finely chopped onion until translucent. Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Pour the cooked onion mixture over the softened bulgur and stir well.
  • Add the lemon juice and pomegranate molasses and mix well.
  • Toss in the chopped herbs, tomatoes, and cucumber and give everything another good stir.
  • Serve it on plates with lettuce leaves on the side. 
  • Serve with lettuce leaves on the side. Pickles, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and extra lemon wedges are great alongside it too.

NOTES

  1. Fine bulgur is a must for this recipe but if you can’t find it, use medium bulgur. These types don’t need to be cooked. Soaking is enough. If it is not softened and still has a hard texture, pour a splash of boiling water on it and let it sit for another 5 or 10 minutes. 
  2. You can easily adjust the amount of olive oil to your taste. We use 80 ml because we like kisir to have a rich, noticeable olive oil flavor. Sometimes we even use 100 ml or more. But if you prefer it lighter, you can reduce it to about 50 ml instead. After mixing everything together, taste it and drizzle in a little more olive oil if you think it needs it.
  3. Pepper paste, biber salçasi in Turkish, is one of the staple ingredients in Turkish cuisine and you can look for it online. If you can’t find it, substitute tomato paste and paprika for it.
  4. You can always play with the amount of lemon juice. Taste it when it is ready and add more if you want. This is supposed to be a tangy salad.
  5. If you can’t find pomegranate molasses, you can increase the amount of lemon juice. 

NUTRITION

Calories: 415kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 10gFat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gSodium: 371mgPotassium: 814mgFiber: 14gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 2539IUVitamin C: 43mgCalcium: 109mgIron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

ADDITIONAL INFO

Course Salad
Cuisine Turkish
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