Slow Cooker Bulgur with Chicken

Cooking method

1. Step 1:

   

   Gather your ingredients. Coarse-grained bulgur works best for this dish. You can use any part of the chicken — I used chicken breast, but thighs, wings, or drumsticks all work.

2. Step 2:

   

   Wash the carrot well, peel it, and grate it coarsely. Peel the onion. Rinse both the onion and your knife under cold water so the onion doesn't sting your eyes as much when you cut it. Finely dice the onion.

3. Step 3:

   

   Transfer the chopped onion and carrot to the slow cooker pot. Set it to "Sauté" for 15 minutes and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring.

4. Step 4:

   

   Rinse the chicken, pat it dry with paper towels, and finely chop it.

5. Step 5:

   

   Add the chicken to the vegetables and keep cooking for another 10 minutes, until the meat turns white.

6. Step 6:

   

   Add salt. Stir in the bay leaf and tomato paste. You can add your favorite seasonings to taste — paprika, curry powder, or dried garlic (1 tsp each) — or use a ready-made chicken or pilaf spice blend. If you do, check the label: if it already contains salt, keep that in mind when seasoning so you don't over-salt the dish.

7. Step 7:

   

   Pour in the dry bulgur. There's no need to rinse it, since the grain is cleaned during processing.

8. Step 8:

   

   Pour in 2 cups of hot water. Use good filtered or bottled water rather than tap water, which can hurt the flavor. Even better, use pre-made chicken or vegetable broth. For extra aroma, you can toss in 2-3 peeled garlic cloves. Set the machine to "Pilaf" for 40 minutes, or "Stew" for 30 minutes.

9. Step 9:

   

   After 40 minutes, turn it off. The bulgur is ready. Stir and serve.

10. Step 10:

    

    Here's the tasty, fluffy bulgur it makes. Enjoy! Serve it with pickled or fresh vegetables.