Chicken bulgur pilaf
A Turkish-style one-pot pilaf of nutty bulgur, chicken, peppers and tomato paste with a gentle chile warmth, served with cool yogurt.
- 45 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.33 a serving
- 450 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1¼ lb chicken breasts, cut into ¾-inch pieces
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1½ cups bulgur
- 2 chicken bouillon cubes
- ½ cup plain yogurt (optional)
- 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
- 2½ cups water
Each serving has about 450 calories, 40 g protein, 45 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $2.33 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No green bell peppers? Red bell peppers or yellow bell peppers work.
- No plain yogurt? Plain Greek yogurt works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the chicken with the cumin and ½ teaspoon of salt, and wash your hands and board.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high and cook the chicken, onion and pepper 6 minutes, , until the onion .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min
in the garlic, tomato paste, paprika and pepper flakes and cook 1 minute, until the paste darkens.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Add the bulgur and 1 minute to coat it.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Pour in the water, in the bouillon, add the rest of the salt, and bring it .
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low, and cook 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the biggest piece of chicken reads 165°F.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Take it off the heat, lay a clean towel under the lid, and let it 10 minutes.
Steam. Steaming means cooking food over or in a little simmering water with a lid on to trap the steam. It cooks gently and keeps vegetables bright and tender.
How you’ll know: The color turns vivid, and a fork goes in with just a little resistance.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: The towel soaks up the drips so the bulgur turns fluffy instead of wet.Fluff with a fork and serve with yogurt and mint.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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