Albaloo Polo - Persian Rice With Sour Cherries

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 5 cups fresh sour cherries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3 cups basmati rice, cooked (persian style preferred!)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon spices, advieh (find this at a middle eastern market, or you can use vegetable or chicken bouillon)
• 1 teaspoon spices, advieh (find this at a middle eastern market, or you can use vegetable or chicken bouillon)
• 2 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup pistachios, slivered

Recipe

• 1 pit your cherries and place them in a saucepan over medium heat. add sugar, stir, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• 2 place a bowl under a colander and drain the cherries.
• 3 return the drained juices to the pot and let reduce for about 10 minutes. (don't worry if the end result is jelly-esque.) set aside.
• 4 melt 2 tablespoons butter in your saucepan. add 1 tablespoon advieh and stir.
• 5 turn off the heat and add the cherries, mixing well so they coat in the seasonings.
• 6 in a large pot, add the yogurt, saffron, 1/2 tablespoon canola oil, and enough water to just cover the surface of the pot. then, build your first layer of basmati rice.
• 7 then, place half of the cherry mixture on top of the rice. gently stir to mix the sour cherries with the rice.
• 8 repeat with another layer of rice and the remainder of your cherries.
• 9 finish with the last layer of rice. with the back of a spatula, make some holes in the rice around the circumference of the pot, making sure to stop before the bottom layer.
• 10 cover and cook on high for 10 minutes.
• 11 meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small sauce pan and add 1 tablespoon of the reserved cherry syrup you made earlier and 1 teaspoon of advieh. pour this over the rice.
• 12 place a towel on the top of the pot, cover, and cook on medium-low for 1 hour.
• 13 serve with slivered pistachios on top.