Tabouleh

               
                I had never thought I could enjoy eating a lot of leaves raw until I made aquaintance with the myriad of green rich salads in the middle eastern cuisine. Back in India, vegetables are mostly eaten cooked and the few green leaves which are consumed raw are usually served as garnishes or toppings.. It had never occurred to me that eating leafy rich salads can be satisfactory or even delicious. I was taken totally unawares by the diversity in flavour and unique ambeance of the different leaves I saw in the Arab markets. Parsley was one of them which actually imparts a distinct smell and flavour to the food that it is an ingredient in many delicious salads and marinations.. In fact it is awesome, even as a garnish for fried chicken or fish. No wonder it is considered as the most popular herb in the world.

             Tabouleh is a middle eastern salad recipe which I got familiar with recently and has parsely as the main ingredient. It is definitely yummy with the lemon and olive oil dressings and the richness of bulgar, and a beauty on the dining table with its vibrant colours. If you are actually on a low fat diet it can serve as a whole food too with the 'carbs' in bulgar and the vitamins A and D in the parsley, not to mention the nutritious richness of tomatoes and cucumbers.. So, off with the recipe...

Things you need:

1/2 cup bulgar( bulgar is a kind of broken wheat)
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 English cucumbers
1/2 green pepper
3 green onions
1 cup freh parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp mint, finely chopped
1 lemon, juiced
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:
          Cook the bulgar for half an hour in boiled water until done. Drain in a fine mesh sieve and press out the water. Chop the tomatoes, cucumber and green pepper in the same size. When dicing the tomatoes first seed them. Finely dice the parsley and mint. Chop green onions very thinly. Toss everything  in with the dressing and mix well. Add adequate salt and pepper.