Bulgur Tomato & Eggplant Pilaf (Shulbato)

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

I am cooking my way through some of the recipes in the cookbook "Falastin" by Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley. Some dishes are naturally vegan, others I will try to veganize. The more I flip through the pages and read the stories, the more I am enchanted with the rich history and culture. As I write this we have been watching the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza for over 80 days. It's important to not only share the horror, blood & dust, but to share the essence of what we must never give up  fighting for. Palestinian culture. Palestinian joy. Palestinian freedom and self actualization. We give up a piece of our humanity everyday peoples basic human rights are being denied. Freedom for Palestine is also our freedom.

This Bulgur Pilaf is a really simple and humble dish. It almost gives me "healthier risotto" vibes. This is the type of food I gravitate towards. Middle Eastern food is naturally or relatively dairy free from what I can gather. The cuisine centers lots of whole grains, nuts, seeds and vegetables. Meat and fish are a central part of the diet also, but many recipes are naturally vegan. 

In this recipe cubes of eggplant are roasted in the oven, and stirred into a pilaf of bulgur, tomato, onion, garlic & spices. The recipe suggested cubes of avocado or feta to garnish, I went with some avocado. The avocado tasted great and I liked the little pop of colour, too.  

Recipe Notes
The original recipe calls for 2 green chiles. I used one large jalapeno, deseeded. The recipe also suggests if you don't want to use eggplant, substitute with zucchini instead. The cooking time would change but roasted zucchini folded in at the end would be delicious. 

The other thing that didn't work for me in the original recipe was the amount of boiling water called for. (1 2/3 cups to cook the bulgur. ) I added the amount of water the recipe suggested, but then had to add a bit more. It's no big deal to do that by adding a splash at a time, leaving the bulgur on low until it softens to the right texture. I'm guessing it just depends on the brand of bulgur you are using, so I am suggesting just looking at the package. 

The original recipe called for 2 medium eggplants. or 5 cups. I didn't really know what a medium eggplant was, so I grabbed 2 from the store. I guess mine were large because one eggplant was enough!