Albaloo Polo - Persian Rice With Sour Cherries

A tart and wonderfully delicious Iranian dish. If you cannot find fresh sour cherries at your local grocery store or Middle Eastern market, you can use black cherries. From My Persian Kitchen.

• Ready In: 1 hr 25 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 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

Directions

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.