Chop up the vegetables you are using, onions, potatoes and the red/green peppers. Cut the potatoes into little cubes. Remember to remove the seeds of the peppers when you are chopping them. Dice the tomatoes if you are using them.

Take a large pot and warm up some oil and add in just the chopped onions and peppers. Fry the vegetables until they are golden. Remember we want golden and not golden brown.

When the vegetables are golden, add in the cubed potatoes to the pot. Fry the potatoes for a few minutes.

Now add the pepper paste into the pot and fry for a few minutes. Add in the diced tomatoes or tomato sauce to it while stirring the mixture. The heat should be medium at this time.

Note: Pepper paste has to always be fried in oil first for a few minutes to increase the flavor intensity of it before adding water to it. In Turkish cuisine, this is an important step and is called opening the flavor of the paste.

Add in salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes and cumin and cook for a few more minutes until it comes to a boil. You can adjust the spices according to your taste.

Now add in the washed bulgur and mix again. Add 4 glasses of hot water, stir, close the lid of the pot, and change the heat to low. Bulgur requires a lot of water when cooking so keep watching it in the early minutes of adding it to see if more water is needed.

Cook until the bulgur is tender and all the water is absorbed. The rice is ready to serve!