KISIR (TURKISH TABOULÉ): REFRESHING, HEALTHY AND TASTY, PERFECT FOR SUMMER, GREAT FOR PICNIC! VEGAN?

A SALAD? A MEZE? A COLD DISH? KISIR IS ALL ! TASTY, FILLING AND HEALTHY. INDISPENSABLE SUMMER DELICACY!
KISIR
INGREDIENTS:
Bulgur - Köftelik 200gr. (1 water glass)
(Bulgur is “boiled and pounded wheat”)
Spring Onions 5-6
Tomato 3
Cucumber 1
Red Bell Pepper 1
Fresh Parsley 10-15 stalks
Fresh Mint 5-8 stalks
Tomato paste 1 tablespoon
Red pepper paste 1 tablespoon
Lemon 2-3
Olive Oil 1 espresso cup (per taste)
Salt 1 coffee spoon (per taste)
Cumin 1 tablespoon (per taste)
Ground black pepper 1/2 coffee spoon (per taste)
Lettuce for decoration per taste
HOW TO MAKE:
The best way to start with this recipe is to get all the vegetables ready first. Wash, peel, cut or chop all the vegetables: chop the spring onions finely; chop the parsley and fresh mint finely; peel, un-seed and chop the cucumbers into little cubes; peel, un-seed and chop the tomatoes into little cubes/pieces; chop the red bell pepper into little pieces. Squeeze the two lemons.
Put the Bulgur in a big bowl and add 1 glass of hot water. (Make sure to use the same glass or container that you used for measuring the bulgur in order to get the 1:1 ratio.) Wait until the bulgur absorbs all the water. Then put the tomato paste, red pepper paste, salt, ground black pepper and cumin (if you opt for using dry mint instead of fresh mint, then add the dry mint at this stage). Mix everything well with your hand to make sure that you rubbed the tomato and red bell pepper paste into the bulgur well. Then add all the chopped vegetables; spring onions, parsley, fresh mint, cucumber and red bell pepper and mix everything well. Then add the finely chopped tomatoes, lemons juice, olive oil and pomegranate syrup (if you choose to use it) and mix again. Taste it and if you think it needs more olive oil or lemon juice, then add more according to your taste.
KISIR is ready. You can serve it with lettuce, because it tastes really refreshing and delicious with lettuce. Alternatively, if you like, you can just eat it as it is, as a salad.
ENJOY!