Learn about the secrets of bulgur
By Joan Obra / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 6:55 AM)

With revised federal health guidelines advising Americans to eat more
whole grains, you may be trying to add bulgur to your diet.

But cooking bulgur isn’t as simple as you may think, says Armenian
cookbook author Barbara Ghazarian. She was in Fresno last week to meet
members of the nonprofit Ani Guild, which supports elderly residents
of the California Armenian Home.

I was glad to interview Ghazarian about bulgur. This grain hasn’t been
part of my kitchen since the time I tried to cook it with chicken
broth, spinach and bacon. That dish is the only thing I’ve cooked in
the past 41/2 years that my fiancé didn’t like.

Lucky for me, Ghazarian is an expert on bulgur. Her latest book,
“Simply Armenian: Naturally Healthy Ethnic Cooking Made Easy,” details
some of her experiments with different types: fine, medium and
coarse. To buy the book, check Internet booksellers or call Enfield
Books at (603) 632-7377.

Before you cook with bulgur, you need to understand what it is.
“Bulgur, also known as cracked wheat,” Ghazarian writes, “was
originally developed as a preservation method in which the whole-wheat
kernels were boiled outdoors in huge cauldrons and then dried in the
sun. ¦ Essentially, bulgur is to the Armenian kitchen what pasta is
to the Italian. It’s a staple ‘ rich in nutrition, fiber and history.”

Because bulgur already has been boiled, cooks simply rehydrate it,
Ghazarian says. And this is where we get into trouble. Improper
techniques leave bulgur too mushy or too dry.

Take sini kufteh, a dish composed of a layer of spiced lamb sandwiched
in a bulgur crust.

“It sounds easy,” Ghazarian says, “but to get it right is really
hard.”

The secret is to cook the dish in a large, thin, 12-by-17-by-1-inch
baking sheet. If you use a 9-by-13-inch pan, the sini kufteh will have
the texture of meatloaf.

“It’s supposed to be juicy and crunchy at the same time,” Ghazarian
says, “not like a meatloaf.”

And beware of substituting different types of bulgur, as one woman did
when she used coarse bulgur instead of fine bulgur in Ghazarian’s
recipe for eetch, a cracked wheat-tomato salad.

The bulgur didn’t rehydrate properly and turned out crunchy, which
ruined the texture of the eetch, Ghazarian says.

Even bulgur pilaf, a ubiquitous dish in Armenian cuisine, can be
tricky for novice cooks.

Stir the bulgur too much while cooking, and it can turn mushy, says
Ghazarian, who advises giving the pot of bulgur and boiling water only
“one big stir.”

Stirring too much was the downfall of my bulgur, spinach and chicken
broth me ss.

For more successful experiences with bulgur, try Ghazarian’s recipes.

And take heart if you don’t get them right the first time. Ghazarian,
who is half Armenian, didn’t always cook Armenian cuisine. She started
learning in earnest after marrying an Armenian man who wanted to eat
it all the time.

Ghazarian spent 10 years standardizing recipes from her grandmother,
mother-in-law and other family members and Armenian friends. But the
recipes ‘ passed down through generations ‘ really reflect centuries
of tinkering by accomplished cooks.

When it comes to bulgur, such information is rare.

“There are not a lot of places in the United States where people cook
bulgur,” Ghazarian says. Hopefully, her cookbook will change that.

The columnist can be reached at jobra@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6365.