Kısır - Turkish Bulgur Salad

There is a very large Turkish expatriate community living in Berlin.  One of the things I am constantly noticing at the Turkish Imbiss is this salad.  I've tried cooking Bulgur before and found it to be pretty tasty.  The fresher the ingredients are in this salad, the better it will taste.  Bulgur is suprisingly easy to prepare, even easier if you have a water cooker to boil water quicky.  The majority of the work in this salad is all of the chopping.  This recipe makes enough for several people, it can easily be multiplied.  Get a couple of friends together and have yourself a Kısır Party!  Prepare little Kısır cups to-go, keep in a bag or a lunch box and it will keep for several hours without regrigeration.

2 cups fine bulgur (avaiable at most grocery stores in the Middle Eastern section)
2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon red pepper paste (spicy or regular, or just another teaspoon of tomato paste)
1/3 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons pomegranate paste (nar ekshisi in Turkish, usually the bulgur)
1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped green onion
Crushed red pepper (optional, add depending on how spicy you want it)
Salt

Preparing Bulgur: Place Bulgur in a medium bowl or pot and add boiling water, place a cover over the bulgur and set aside for 20 minutes.  You can now begin chopping your other ingredients.

Once the bulgur is set, add the tomato and red pepper paste, pomegranate paste and olive oil and stir to mix well.  Then you can add all the other ingredients and mix well.  Cover and refrigerate for a few hours so all the flavor can mix.