Dinner

Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) is for Dinner.

Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) takes several minutes to prepare.

Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) takes several minutes to cook.

Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) makes 6 servings.

The ingredients for Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) are:

For 6 cups, you'll need:
1 24-oz jar of sour or morello cherries in light syrup (I got mine at Trader Joe's for $2.29.)
3 cups basmati rice (TJ's has 3-lb bags for $2.69.)
1 or 2 pinches of saffron, depending on how much you want to splurge (Again, TJ's $3.99 for a 1 gram jar.)
1/4 cup sugar, or more if you have a sweeter tooth than I do
1 stick, or 1/2 cup butter

Here is how you make Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice):

Clean and wash 3 cups of basmati rice. I used a rice cup, which is equivalent to 3/4 of a measuring cup. Fill with water and let the rice soak for at least two hours. This step is not absolutely necessary but it softens the rice and helps it cook faster once it goes into the rice cooker. Just set it aside, go do your usual things, and then come back in a few hours, OK?Take 1 or 2 pinches of saffron and put in 2 tblsps of hot water. Set aside.Wash your rice once more and fill it up to the proper watermark in your rice cooker and let it cook. I'm not sure about you, but my mini-rice cooker makes a pot of rice in about 15 minutes.Meanwhile, drain the cherry juices into a small saucepan. Add 1/4 cup sugar and stir until it dissolves. Let the mixture simmer on medium heat until it reduces and a syrup is formed. Since I don't like overly sweet food, I only used 1/4 cup of sugar so it's a very, very light syrup. The other recipes go up to 1 cup of sugar, so if you want a thick, sweet syrup, add more. The syrup will take 15 minutes on up depending on how much sugar you used and how much liquid was in the jar.When the rice and syrup are done, you're ready to start layering and steaming (Yes, again!) your polow. In a large pot (I used my 7-quart Dutch oven.) on high heat, add 1/2 of a stick of butter, or 1/4 cup. When the butter is mostly melted, add a light layer of the basmati rice until it covers the bottom of the pot. Then add about 1 cup of cherries in the center. Add another cup of basmati rice. Keep alternating between the basmati rice and the cherries, always adding them on top of each other into the center so a pyramid shape is formed. When all the basmati rice and cherries have all been added, cut the remaning 1/2 stick of butter into small chunks and add them in a circle on top of the rice. Pour the cherry syrup over the mixture. And then add the saffron and saffron water on top.Wet a paper towel or two and place that over the top of the pot. This seals in the steam when you put the cover on top. Turn heat down to medium and cook the rice mixture for another 20 minutes or so. The butter on the bottom of the pot will form a nice ta dig (crispy rice crust). You may even cook this up to 45 minutes if you want an even crispier rice crust, or for the cherries to shrivel up more.Number of Servings: 6Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user BLUEDAWG80.

The nutritional information for Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) is:

• Servings Per Recipe: 6
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 307.2

• Total Fat: 16.0 g
• Cholesterol: 41.4 mg
• Sodium: 20.8 mg
• Total Carbs: 39.3 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g
• Protein: 3.1 g

Albalu Polow (Persian Sour Cherry Rice) is Asian cuisine.