Koupas from Cyprus

                                                                                Receta en Español

Koupas are a kind of 'croquettes' very typical from Cyprus and Greece. They are also known als Kibe or kibbeh at Libano, they are made using bulgur, it is, wheat that they let dry after cooked.

You can find bulgur in different sizes; whole, half grain or thin , you must use this last one to prepare the koupas.

The filling of the koupas is also very important, you must use ground pork or beef.

This recipe shows the influence of Middle East into the Greek and Cypriot cuisine, at the same time, is shows the culture of these countries because they use pork meat, something that Middle East people would not dare.

Ingredients for the dough:

- 300 grams bulgur.
- 525 ml water.

- 80 grams flour.

- Salt.

- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper.

Ingredients for the filling:

- 400 grams ground pork or beef.

- Olive oil.

- 1 finely chopped onion.

- 2 tablespoon mint.

- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.

- 1/2 teaspoon cumin.

- 2 tablespoon pine nuts.

- Salt.

- Black pepper.

- Parsley.

Method:

1- This is the  bulgur that we are gooing to use:

2- We first prepare the dough, put the bulgur and salt in a bowl, add flour, cinnamon and white pepper, mix well and add boiling water, stir and let stand for 2 hours until all the water has been absorbed. To let stand you should cover it with cling film.

3- For the filling, first toast pine nuts.

4- Chop the onion and sauté it.

5- Add the meat and stir well, then cook until the meat has changed its colour. Add pine nuts, parseley, mint, cumin, cinnamon, salt and black pepper. Stir well and cook for more few minutes.

6- Soak your hands in water to prevent the bulgur to stick to your hands, take some bulgur and put it on your hand palm, smash it:

7- Place a little portion of meat over the bulgur.

8- Take other portion of wheat to cover the meat, use your hands to help you to wrap all the meat, and make koupas the same shape you see at the following pictures:

9- Fry koupas in hot oil until they change its colour to slightly brown. Place them on paper towel to absorb the excess of oil.

10 - Serve them with some parseley.

Where to find the ingredients

You can find bulgur near Madrid mosque, at Antonio Calvo street. El Carmen metro station.

Bulgur Pilaf (Armenia)

                                                                               Receta en Español

Bulgur is a typical ingredient in Armenia and other Middle East countries. It is boiled wheat that has been splitted and dried afterwards to preserve it.
Here you can read about bulgur (it is in Spanish)
Bulgur

Bulgur is similar to rice, we can use bulgur instead of rice in many dishes, I present today a recipe typical from Armenia a pilaf made with bulgur.

This is the basic recipe, you can add more ingredients.
I read this recipe at this website with more recipes from Armenia:
Thearmeniankitchen- bulgur Pilaf.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of Bulgur.
• 2 cups of vegetables or chicken  broth.
• 15 grams of butter.
• 1/2 cup of little noodles.
• 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce.
• Salt.

Method:

1-  Melt butter in a casserole at low heat.

2-  Add noodles cook and stir until they get light brown, in the pictures you can see how they get.

Before

After

3-  Add bulgur and cook 1 more minute.

4-  Add broth, cover and put on a medium heat until it reaches boiling point, at this point put it on a low heat during 15 minutes or until the broth has disappeared and bulgur is tender.

5-  Let stand covered for 5 or 10 minutes, then stir with a fork.
Now you can serve it!!.
You can eat it like that or like a side dish of a meat dish.

My comments to the recipe

It is really very similar to rice in its appearance, the taste is a little different but very good, the mixture with the noodles is nice.
It is very easy to cook and very healthy!




Armenia