Lentil, Bulgur & Tamarind Pilaf

Name: Lentil, Bulgur & Tamarind Pilaf
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients: 3 handfuls of coriander/cilantro leaves, roughly chopped; ¼ tsp Aleppo pepper flakes or crushed chilli flakes; 250 g/9 oz/1¼ cups brown lentils; ½ tsp ground cumin; 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated and finely chopped; White Cabbage Salad, to serve – you may like to omit the garlic from this recipe as the pilaf also contains garlic; 120 g/4¼ oz/½ cup coarse or extra coarse bulgur wheat (grade 3 or 4); sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 2 tbsp sunflower oil; 3 red onions, thinly sliced; 1½ tbsp tamarind paste or juice of 1 lemon; 4 tbsp olive oil

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium
Ready in
55 min

Appears in

The Jewelled Kitchen

By Bethany Kehdy

Published 2013

About

This is my interpretation of a savoury dish whose native name translates as “burnt his fingers”. Traditionally, the dish is prepared with reshteh, or noodles similar to tagliatelle. I have also encountered the dish without the reshteh, and topped with fried Arabic breadcrumbs instead.

Ingredients

1½ tbsp tamarind paste or juice of 1 lemon
250 g/

Main course
Vegan

Method

Put the tamarind paste, if using, in a small mixing bowl, add 3 tablespoons hot water and leave to soak for about 10 minutes. With a fork or your hands, mash the tamarind until it dissolves and you are left with a light brown, thick, sauce-like paste. Strain through a fine si