published Aug 02, 2021, updated Jan 28, 2024 Meals made with healthy whole grains and fresh, bright herbs are enjoyed in many Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. Of course, the healthiness of dishes like Mediterranean barley salad, tabbouleh, and Pomegranate barley salad is only one reason they’re so popular.Whole grains are hearty, filling, and they add great flavor and texture to any dish they’re added to. Healthy, hearty, and flavorful defines this popular Turkish bulgur salad perfectly. You may see the diced pickles in the ingredients and wonder, but trust me, when mixed with the pomegranate and mint is essential in this salad’s flavor profile! Recently I brought this to a family potluck and even kids aged 4 and 6 LOVED this salad!
Kisir
Cuisine: Mediterranean / Turkish The Republic of Turkey is one of a few countries that lies geographically across two continents. With 3 percent of the land occupying Europe and the remainder in Asia, it’s easy to understand why its population is so diverse. Turkey lies just north of the Middle Eastern country of Syria and west of the Balkan Peninsula, so Turkish cuisine has Middle Eastern, Asian, and Mediterranean influences. This makes for some incredibly flavorful food with heavy focus on fresh herbs and whole grains. Course: Main DishDifficulty: Easy 🥄Description:Kisir is a fine grain bulgur wheat salad with its primary flavors coming from fresh parsley, mint, tomatoes, and chili paste. Other ingredients in the barley salad can vary from family to family, but pomegranate, cucumbers or pickles, and spring onions are common.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Bulgur Wheat
Bulgur is a cereal grain made from either red or white wheat, but most often durum. Also known as toasted cracked wheat, named for the production process. This includes parboiling, cracking, toasting and then rolling the kernels.There are four varieties of bulgur, based on the texture; fine, medium, coarse, or extra coarse. The finer the grain, the less cooking time it needs.For this bulgur wheat recipe, you’ll want to use fine grain bulgur wheat, also known as #1 Fine. I usually purchase mine at a local Middle Eastern market. You can also find Bob’s Red Mill Red Bulgur in most markets and pulse several times in a food processor to create a finer grain.
Pomegranate Molasses
This ingredient is included in kisir salad recipes In the southern parts of Turkey, where spicy and sour flavors are more popular. Northeastern Turkey versions usually call for lemon juice, which you can certainly use in place of the pomegranate molasses if you wish.
Optional ingredients for Turkish barley salad
Using the traditional kisir ingredients of flat leaf parsley, bulgur wheat, tomatoes, lemon, and olive oil, kisir is delicious, but it’s a bit too similar to Lebanese or Greek tabbouleh. The flavor is very fresh and clean tasting, but in my opinion, there isn’t a lot of additional texture or flavor going on. So, I like to add other vegetables and ingredients to boost the flavor.This is where you can get creative with your kisir salad! Because I really like spicy, sour, and sweet flavors together, this is what I added to my barley salad:
Biber Salcasi – This Turkish red pepper paste can be made with or without spicy chiles. I prefer the one with a little heat. Basically, the condiment is to Turkish cuisine what tomato paste is to Italian. I’ll be sharing my recipe on how to make it soon with you!Pomegranate molasses and arilsChopped dill picklesScallions
Want to serve your Turkish salad as a complete meal?Bulgur salad is very filling, but there’s no reason you couldn’t add some meat to the kisir! Chop up some souvlaki, or harissa chicken for a heartier meal.
