Instructions: Bulgar (also bulghur or burghul) or "cracked wheat originated in Mesopotamia. References to it can be found in the Bible but also in some ninthcentury BC Assyrian tablets where one of the dishes mentioned is kabba (in Iraq) or kibbe (in Syria) made with cracked wheat and stuffed with meat and spices. It was also used by the ancient Greeks as khondros. It was the most common grain in the middle East before the advent of imported and expensive rice.

Traditionally in the middle East bulgar is made by dropping wheat grains into boiling water and cooking them until almost soft. They are then drained and spread on terraces and left for three days being stirred twice daily. The grain dries and becomes wrinkled in the heat. It is then shelled and spread in the sun again which separates the dried husks and gives the grain a nutty taste. It is then ground coarsely. This explains how little cooking it requires.

Bulgar has been widely used in the middle East in pilaffs in stuffings for vegetables or vine leaves in soups mixed with meat and made into kebabs and in salads such as the Lebanese Tabbouleh (qv).

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