Kurdish · side

Savar (Bulgur Pilaf with Tomato and Sheep's Butter)

Savar (Bulgur Pilaf with Tomato and Sheep's Butter) reads nutty 4.1, salinity 3.5 and umami 3.3 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Kurdish side, about 49 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 3.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 2.5 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.3 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.3 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.9 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 3.4 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Nutty 4.1 · Salinity 3.5 · Umami 3.3 · Allium 3.0 · Richness 2.5 · Sourness 2.2 · Herbaceous 2.1 · Fruity 1.9 · Sweetness 1.9 · Warm Spice 1.5 · Heat 1.4 · Floral 1.2 · Earthy 1.1 · Bitterness 1.1 · Citrus 0.5

What's in it (12)

• bulgur — 350 g
• sheep's butter — 60 g
• onion — 150 g
• tomato paste — 30 g
• tomatoes — 250 g
• hot lamb stock — 700 g
• salt — 7 g
• freshly ground black pepper — 3 g
• aleppo pepper — 5 g
• vermicelli pasta — 60 g
• pine nuts — 40 g
• flat-leaf parsley — 20 g

Time & effort: about 49 min (34 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 109.9 kcal, 3.7 g protein, 2.1 g fat, 20.6 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. Coarse bulgur is the everyday grain of the Kurdish table, eaten far more often than rice, and it wants a grade 3 or 4 grind — the fine kind used for kubba shells will collapse into porridge here.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy pan over medium heat, add the pine nuts and the broken vermicelli and fry 3 minutes, stirring, until both are deep gold.
3. Add the onion and cook 8 minutes until soft and beginning to colour at the edges.
4. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 2 minutes until it darkens and smells sweet rather than raw, then add the grated tomato and cook 4 minutes until the mixture is thick and there is no free liquid.
5. Add the bulgur and turn it through the mixture for 2 minutes so every grain is coated in the buttery paste.
6. Pour in the hot stock, add the salt, black pepper and Aleppo pepper, bring to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes, until the liquid has gone and there are steam holes in the surface.
7. Take off the heat, lay a cloth under the lid and rest 15 minutes — this is what makes the grains separate rather than sticky. Fork through, scatter with parsley and serve alongside stews or grilled meat.
8. Substitutions: ghee can stand in for the sheep's butter; water can stand in for the hot lamb stock.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Country Captain Chicken with Curry and Almonds — Southern
• Country Captain Chicken with Currants and Almonds — Southern
• Middle Eastern Cinnamon-Spiced Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers — Middle Eastern
• Ifisashi — Zambian
• Tigadèguèna (Groundnut Sauce with Chicken) — Malian

Keep reading: what nutty, salinity, umami mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.