Instant Pot Kısır Salad
Servings: 2 meal-sized bowls
Calories: 413kcal
Cost: $1.38 per bowl
Use an Instant Pot to perfectly cook the base of this Turkish kısır salad while you chop the veggies. Then just toss everything together for an easy spring salad!
Print Recipe
Equipment
- Instant Pot (or similar pressure cooker)
Ingredients
Salad Base (to pressure cook)
- 1 cup cracked wheat (see Note 1
) - 1 small onion, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp red pepper paste aka biber salçası (*optional)
- ½ tsp cumin (*optional; see Note 2
) - 1 cup water
Kısır Additions
- 1 Roma tomato
- 1 cup parsley
- 3 scallions (around 1/4 cup)
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp fine salt or 1½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp Aleppo pepper aka pul biber (*can sub with chili flakes)
- juice of ½ lemon or 2 tbsp şalgam suyu (see Note 3
) - 1–2 tbsp pomegranate molasses (*optional; see Note 4
) - 1 tbsp olive oil (*optional)
- 1 tsp sumac (*optional)
Instructions
- Add all of the Salad Base ingredients (cracked wheat, diced onion, tomato paste, pepper paste, cumin) and water to the Instant Pot.
- Use "Pressure Cook" setting ("Manual" on older models) for 5 minutes at High Pressure. Allow pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the rest of the rest of the ingredients: chop the tomato, parsley, scallions, and gather the spices.
- Release any remaining pressure in the Instant Pot and open the lid.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Taste for salt and spice level.
Notes
- If you have bulgur instead of cracked wheat, there is no need to use the Instant Pot since bulgur is already cooked (see "Bulgur vs Cracked Wheat" section below). Just put the Salad Base ingredients in a mixing bowl and pour over 1 cup of boiling water. Let it soak for at least 15 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.
- Cumin is often found in kısır recipes from the south of Turkey. I happen to prefer this version with a little cumin, but nothing wrong with leaving it out either.
- Şalgam suyu is a sour Turkish drink made from fermented carrots.
- I was inspired to sprinkle in some şalgam after reading Somer Sivrioğlu's kısır recipe in the cookbook Anatolia: Adventures in Turkish Cooking. His version calls for pickle juice.
- According to M. Ömür Akkor in Ottoman Cuisine: A Rich Culinary Tradition, "in 16th century, janissaries used to eat salads prepared with turnip juice, cucumber, radish, onion, garlic, and vinegar." I thought this added quite a nice flavour to the salad.
- Pomegranate molasses, aka nar ekşisi, is a Turkish condiment traditionally used in kısır. It also adds a bit of sweetness. Feel free to substitute any of lemon, şalgam, or pomegranate molasses for each other, but it's necessary to have at least one sour ingredient in there for kısır's signature flavour. You can also try substituting balsamic vinegar for the pomegranate molasses. I haven't tried this myself, but I heard it's a decent substitute.
Nutrition
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Sodium: 1264mg | Potassium: 868mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 2413IU | Vitamin C: 48mg | Calcium: 78mg | Iron: 5mg