Iranian Albaloo Polow Recipes

Steps:

• Cook rice in a large pot of salted water as you would pasta, boiling until just cooked through with some bite in center, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve, then rinse with cool water; drain again. In a small bowl, steep saffron in hot water until liquid is bright orange, 5 minutes.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add one-third of cooked rice, spreading it to edges of pan in an even layer. Scatter half of preserves on top of rice, then poke 4 holes through rice with the bottom of a wooden spoon. Cut 1 tablespoon butter into small pieces; place on holes. Spoon half of remaining rice on top, followed by remaining preserves; poke 4 more holes and dot each with remaining 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small pieces. Stir saffron mixture into remaining rice; add to pot as final layer. Wrap lid with a clean kitchen towel and cover pot. Reduce heat to low and cook until rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Fluff with a fork and season with salt; serve.

Steps:

• Wash the cherries and remove the stones. Add sugar. Use less sugar if you are using normal cherries rather than sour or black cherries. Bring to boil and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool down completely. Remove the extra syrup.
• Peel and thinly slice the onions. Wash the chicken breasts, add the onions, salt and black pepper, and a glass of hot water, and cook over medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
• Allow to cool, then filter the chicken juice and save for later use.
• Follow instructions for preparing Polow until the rice is rinsed.
• Mix half of the rinsed rice with the cherries.
• Pour 2 spoonfuls of cooking oil and half a glass of hot water in the pot. Peal and cut the potatoes in about 1 cm thin slices and spread the potato slices on the bottom of the pot.
• Follow with the cherry-rice and cover with half of the remaining rice.
• Spread chicken over the rice, and cover with the remaining rice. Shape into a cone.
• Mix 2-3 spoonfuls of cooking oil with the cherry syrup and chicken juice and pour the mix over the rice.
• Cover the pot and cook over low heat for about one hour.
• Dissolve the saffron in a bit of hot (but not boiling) water or soak the threads in the hot water for several minutes prior to use (this helps release the beneficial components).
• When the rice is cooked, remove some of it and mix it with the dissolved saffron.
• When serving, spread saffron-rice over Albaloo-Polow.

Steps:

• Pit your cherries and place them in a saucepan over medium heat. Add sugar, stir, and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Place a bowl under a colander and drain the cherries.
• 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.
• Melt 2 tablespoons butter in your saucepan. Add 1 tablespoon advieh and stir.
• Turn off the heat and add the cherries, mixing well so they coat in the seasonings.
• 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.
• Then, place half of the cherry mixture on top of the rice. Gently stir to mix the sour cherries with the rice.
• Repeat with another layer of rice and the remainder of your cherries.
• 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.
• Cover and cook on high for 10 minutes.
• 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.
• Place a towel on the top of the pot, cover, and cook on medium-low for 1 hour.
• Serve with slivered pistachios on top.