Bulgur Champorado "Chocolate Porridge"

When I was a little girl, most morning we have this champorado. It is like rice porridge but is flavored with cocoa or chocolate and enjoyed with lots of evaporated milk to make it creamy. I didn't like it that much as I could remember because it tasted too sweet for me, and it wasn't much creamy according my likes. My mom is using an organic cocoa powder back then, and also glutinous rice to make the porridge thick, I don't recall that she's adding any evaporated milk too. 

When I started working, my co-workers would usually buy this for their afternoon snack, and I got hooked too specially when the weather is cold and rainy. I started cooking champorado for my own family lately but I made few modifications. 

Because glutinous rice is hard to find in Jeddah, I have modified my champorado using bulgur wheat which I think is healthier because it is packed with lots of fiber, iron and protein instead of the carbohydrates from glutinous rice. My kids loves them and could eat it for the entire day if I would permit. 

Here is my recipe:

1 cup bulgur wheat

4 cups water

3 tbsp dark cocoa powder

6 tbsp sugar or more according to your preference, I like the taste of dark chocolate so I prefer less sugar

1/2 tsp of vanilla

1. wash the bulgur and boil it in 4 cups of water. Once it starts boiling lower the heat and simmer it until the bulgur has cracked open or soft enough and the water has decreased according to your preferred consistency. It will not get sticky nor thick like the glutinous rice do.

2. Once the bulgur is cooked and the consistency of water is achieved add the cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla and let simmer for 5 minutes. It is now ready to serve. Put it in bowls and serve with evaporated milk or powdered milk for creamy chocolate milk flavor. 

Another variation you could try if you don't have cocoa powder is substituting  2 small Hershey's chocolate bars, break it to smaller pieces to melt faster. It gives it creamier and more chocolaty taste.