Bulgur pilaf pot

Recipe

• 1 cup Bulgur (Dalia), medium or coarse
• 1/2 cup lentils (mix of split green lentils, red lentils and yellow lentils)
• 1/2 cup boiled chickpeas or red kidney beans
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 bell peppers, chopped
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 2 cups vegetables consisting of :

1. 1 potato, chopped
2. 1/2 cup peas
3. 1 carrot, chopped
4. 1/2 cup cauliflower florets

• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 bunch coriander, finely chopped
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 tsp ghee/clarified butter
• red chilli powder to taste
• salt to taste
• pinch of asafoetida
• pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur
• 1 tsp garam masala

Method

1. Take a pressure cooker (or a pot – though that takes much more time). To this, add the bulgur and lentils. Now wash them thoroughly. Add 3 cups of water* to the cooker. To this, add salt to taste, turmeric, chopped green chilli and ginger.
2. Cover with the lid and boil till 2 whistles. Simmer for 5 minutes and keep aside. If using a pot, bring to boil and keep on simmer till the bulgur and lentils are soft and cooked. * you may have to add more boiled water after the bulgur+ lentil is cooked depending on the consistency of the pilaf needed. Adjust salt accordingly.
3. Take a separate pan and add oil. Bring to high flame. Now add asafoetida and cumin seeds and let it splutter. Add onions, spring onions and bell peppers to the pan and saute for 2 minutes. Add chopped garlic & tomato chunks and saute for another minute.
4. Now, add in the vegetables and Boiled chickpeas/red kidney beans. Put salt & red chilli powder to taste. Add turmeric powder according to the amount of vegetables.Mix well. Lower the heat to medium flame and cover the pan with a lid. Cook till the vegetables are tender.
5. Now, add the cooked vegetables to the bulgur + lentil pot and stir well till the mixture is homogenous. Cover with lid and simmer for 5 minutes so that the juice and spices from vegetables mix in well with the bulgur and lentils. Add garam masala and chopped fresh coriander. Bulgur Pilaf is ready.

For Tempering/Tadka

Take a small pan. Add 1 spoon of Ghee to it and let it melt on medium flame. Once the ghee is melted, add asafoetida and cumin seeds to it. Let the cumin seeds splutter. Upon spluttering, add 1 tsp chilli powder to it and immediately shut the flame. Tadka is ready. Make sure that the red chilli powder does not over roast or it will burn and will not taste as good in tadka.
Pour it over steaming hot pot of Bulgur Pilaf and serve hot.