Bulgur

Bulgur is wheat that has been boiled whole, dried and then cracked, which is why it cooks in minutes where a raw wheat grain takes an hour. It predates rice in this part of the world by a very long way, and it kept its place in Cypriot and northern Greek kitchens even after rice became cheap. Greeks call it pligouri, Cypriots pourgouri, and the two words describe the same grain.

Pourgouri pilafi is Cyprus's everyday starch, the grain toasted with onion and broken vermicelli, then simmered in chicken or vegetable stock and served with a bowl of yogurt beside it. Fine bulgur does completely different work: soaked rather than boiled, it forms the thin outer shell of koupes, the torpedo-shaped Cypriot snacks filled with spiced minced meat and deep fried.

Buy by grind rather than by brand. Coarse bulgur is for pilafs and stuffings and stays separate; fine bulgur is for shells, fritters and salads and turns to paste if boiled. Coarsely pounded raw wheat, sold as resi or as cracked wheat, is a different product that has not been parboiled and needs far longer cooking than any bulgur does.