Bulgur

Parboiled, dried and cracked durum wheat — the grain of the Levant. It comes in four grades, and the grade matters more than the brand: the wrong one is the single most common reason a kibbeh shell cracks or a tabbouleh turns stodgy.

Also known as burghul · bourghol · borghol · cracked wheat

• Arabicبرغلburghul
• What it isDurum wheat, parboiled, dried and cracked
• Sold asFour grades, #1 fine to #4 very coarse
• Fine (#1)Hydrates raw in lemon juice. Tabbouleh and kibbeh
• Coarse (#3)Needs cooking. Pilaf and mujaddara
• KeepsA year or more, sealed, cool and dry

What it tastes and smells like

Mild, wheaty and faintly toasted from the parboiling — bulgur is a texture before it is a flavour. What changes from dish to dish is the grade, not the taste.

It is already cooked once, which is why fine bulgur will soften in nothing more than lemon juice and chopped tomato, and why coarse bulgur cooks so much faster than raw wheat.

Which kind

• Fine, #1Hydrates raw. Tabbouleh, where it is a seasoning rather than a bulk ingredient, and kibbeh, where fine is what holds a shell together.
• Medium, #2The versatile grade. Kibbeh, salads and stuffings.
• Coarse, #3Needs cooking. Pilafs, mujaddara and side dishes.
• Very coarse, #4Slow-cooked dishes, and ground down for porridge.

For tabbouleh use fine, #1. For kibbeh use fine or medium. Coarse bulgur cracks a kibbeh shell the moment it goes into the oil.

What it is used in

• Idlibi Kibbeh2 cups Fine bulgur wheat
• Kebbeh Lakteen300 grams fine bulgur wheat (#1)
• Kibbeh Aqras300 grams fine bulgur wheat (#1 grade)
• Kibbeh Arfaliyeh — Fried Torpedo Kibbeh1 kg Fine bulgur (burghul naaem)
• Kibbeh in Tahini and Chickpea Sauce160 g fine bulgur
• Bekaa Yogurt Kibbeh200 g fine bulgur
• Idlib Kibbeh in Sheep's Milk Yogurt Sauce1½ cups fine bulgur wheat
• Kibbeh bil Sanieh (Northern Variant)300 g Fine bulgur wheat

24 Sofra recipes use it in all — browse the collection.

How to buy and store it

Middle Eastern grocers sell all four grades and label them by number; supermarkets often sell one unlabelled grade, which is where the trouble starts. If a bag says only bulgur, look at it — fine bulgur is close to coarse sand, coarse bulgur is visibly cracked grain.

It keeps a year or more sealed in a cool cupboard. Buy the grades you actually cook rather than one bag to cover everything, because no single grade does both tabbouleh and pilaf well.

If you cannot find it

• Freekeh goodSimilar body, different flavour — smoky rather than neutral. Works in pilaf and mujaddara.
• Quinoa acceptableA gluten-free option with a very different flavour. Workable in tabbouleh, not in kibbeh.