Back during bob's Stockholm period, he discovered vegetarian buffet restaurants and whole grain dense dishes that were really appealing and which made a lasting impression in his usually unreliable memory. Little did he know at the time that the only way he'd ever see similar stuff back home was by marrying into Middle Eastern cuisine. Lentil and chick pea bulgur pilafs are probably the two best representative bulgur pilaf dishes (that bob nearly always overeats at dinner at the in-laws), and as combinations of whole grains and legumes, are also extremely healthy, for reasons only true vegetarians can remember. (We're not.) There are lots of variations of bulgur pilaf in Armenian cooking, but these two are the staples of Isgouhi's kitchen, and this one apparently has evolved from the Anjarian variation of the dish.
After several conflicting versions of this recipe were transcribed into the spiral bound loose-leaf notebook bob keeps to record Isgouhi's best stuff, most dictated after the fact without witnessing the process (big mistake!), bob finally finds the occasion to do a recipe watch-through using the nice measuring spoon set he'd gotten her for this purpose much earlier, still unused. A consensus is reached.