This is another of the Saudi Arabian dishes made from coarsely ground grain known as jareesh, which most likely
originated with the Bedouin of the region. Eventually, the dish made its way to the tables of the cities of the Arab East. Evidence of the centuries-old migration of jareesh can be found in the medieval Arabic culinary texts written in both Baghdad and Aleppo. Although, the original recipe calls for jareesh, in my view, the wheat product bulghur enhances the dish. The dish has a smooth taste and is thick and similar in texture to cooked oatmeal or porridge.
SERVES: from 6 to 8
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
SOAKING TIME: 15 minutes
COOKING TIME: 1 hour 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups (500 g) store-bought or Homemade Plain Yogurt
- 2 cups (500 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup (250 g) coarse bulghur, soaked for 15 minutes in warm
- water and drained
- 1 small jalapeño or other fresh finger-length green chili pepper of your choice, finely chopped
- 11/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Arabian Gulf Spice Mix (Baharat)
- 3 tablespoons melted butter, for drizzling over the top
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Bring the yogurt, water and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan with a lid over medium heat, stirring continuously in one direction. As soon as the yogurt begins to boil, stir in the rest of the ingredients, except the butter. Cover and simmer over low heat for 1 hour, or until the bulghur is well-cooked, stirring a number of times. Add more water if the bulghur becomes too thick and begins to stick to the bottom of the saucepan.
- Transfer to a food processor and process for 2 minutes or until the texture is smooth. Return the bulghur mixture to the saucepan and re-heat. Pour into individual serving bowls and drizzle the butter over the top and serve.
FALAFEL TIPS:
- The trick to successfully forming falafel by hand is to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. To do this, dampen your hands with a bit of cold water before shaping the falafel dough (and re-wet them before forming another falafel).
- Another simple way to avoid getting sticky dough on your hands while working with the dough is to use two tablespoons: use one to pick up some of the batter, press it down firmly in the spoon, and then push it off the spoon with another spoon into the hot oil If you are using a falafel mold, dip the mold in cold water then shake off any excess water before placing the falafel batter in the mold. This will make it easy for the falafel batter to slide off the mold into the hot oil.
