Persian Sour Cherry Rice: Albaloo Polo

I grew up in a household that ate potatoes: mashed, roasted, smashed and steamed. We did occasionally eat rice, but it was normally served alongside fish which, during the early 70’s, was not considered a nightly dinner option (meat, meat, meat!). And the rice types available were limited. It was either Uncle Bens, Mahatma or Rice-a-Roni “the San Francisco treat” – which my mom flat out refused to cook much to my chagrin.

As a kid, any rice smothered in butter and salt tasted delicious, but it wasn’t until I went to work in South India in my mid twenties that I was introduced to extra, extra long grain Basmati rice in all its fluffy fragrant glory. And wow, I’m talking about heaping plates of gorgeous steaming long grained white rice that seemed to be endlessly replenished at every meal – I loved it, I craved it, I learned how to eat with my hands and mix rice and veg dishes with my finger tips on my plate scooping it into my mouth as elegantly as possible (and yes, food does actually taste better when you eat it with your hands). It was heavenly, so delicious, and the rice a perfect counterpoint to all the other intense flavors.

Later, in my forties, when I went to work for Chef Faz and his six restaurants, he taught me personally about the art of making this same beautiful long grain rice but in the Persian style. Chef Faz was absolute on his rice cooking technique. And considering that rice isn’t an easy dish to “hold” in a restaurant, I can say that he mastered and was deeply committed to serving only the best rice in quality and in preparation.

I should also note, that my Mother-in-Law is a phenomenal Persian cook and her rice dishes are among my daughter’s favorite (and mine too!). When Grandma Shahla shows up with a big pot of rice, we know we are going to eat well!

Making rice the Persian way, is not hard. Yes, there are more steps to it than simply measuring the rice and water and putting it on the stove top to steam, but the result is a fluffier, tastier and more fragrant side dish that you can dress up or down as desired.

Just about all Persian rice dishes (of which there are many) have the same basic foundation: wash rice until the water is clear of starch, soak rice in water that is as salty as the sea overnight or at least for 3 hours – it will swell and double in size, parboil rice on the stove top until al dente, drain in a colander and bake rice with a lot of butter in the oven or cook on the stove top with a dish towel wrapped around the lid. I personally prefer to bake it afterwards because the tahdig doesn’t burn as easily and I don’t have teflon cookware, but my Mom prefers to finish the rice on the stovetop.

And of course you’ve heard about the “tahdig” as it’s called, which is the crispy rice crust that forms on the bottom of the pan and is normally served on a separate plate from the rice. The coveted ‘tahdig‘ is an art form in itself and sometimes consists of sliced potato or lavash placed on the bottom of the rice pot in a decorative fashion.

The cherries in the recipe are the last ones from my secret Montmorency sour cherry tree (no, I am not going to tell you where it is!) but you can also use the sour cherries packed in a light sugar water by Sadaf or totally cheat and buy the Trader Joes sour cherries packed in syrup. You’re going to make a syrup anyway, so yes, you can use those in a pinch, but the cherries themselves are not as plump or as flavorful.

This rice dish is one of my favorites. The saffron, cherry and fragrant rice combo is just so beautiful. Traditionally I’ve seen this rice served alongside Cornish Game hens but it can also be served with just about any protein: chicken, beef, fish (sturgeon would be awesome!). We made saffron chicken kabobs to go alongside and koubideh, which I’ll include in the next recipes.

Layla certainly enjoyed pitting the cherries and because she was part of the process, she was more willing to try it too. Not that rice cooked with butter is a hard sell to a toddler, but anything new is intimidating and untrustworthy regardless.

I try to involve Layla with every meal that we make. Often I’m wearing Hettie Rose too so she can see and smell everything. Cooking is a language in itself, and when we grow up seeing, smelling and participating in that language we can speak it with fluency when we’re older…

I hope this sour cherry rice dish becomes a staple in your family! It certainly elevates the most mundane proteins to something festive!

Enjoy!

Persian Sour Cherry Rice: Albaloo Polo

Ingredients

• 3 cups XXL Sela Basmati rice, Zebra Gold is my favorite
• 3 cups fresh sour cherries pitted, or 1 24oz jar of sour cherries packed in light syrup or in water
• 1/3 cup of sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp advieh (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter (one stick)
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron, ground (if you grind a whole bunch of threads in a burr grinder, it is easier to use)
• Kosher salt

 

1. Pit cherries and place in a sauce pot with the sugar and one cup water and cook on low for 15 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and the advieh spice and cook a little more until there is a nice gooey syrup. Reserve. If using canned cherries, add 1 cup of the packing water and follow the same instructions lowering the sugar a little. 
2. Wash the Rice: put the rice in a large pot and allow cold water to flow over it. Mix around the water and drain frequently until the water is clear from starch. It can take up to five times to really wash the rice well.
3. Soak the rice for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight: place rice in big pot and fill with cold water. Season with salt until the water tastes salty like the sea. 
4. Drain the rice in a colander and set back into the big pot. Cover with water by at least two inches and boil until al dente, about 9 minutes. 
5. Drain the rice in a colander.
6. In a large casserole that is lightly greased on the bottom, place a good two inches of rice, then layer cherries and more rice over, then cherries and more rice over until all is used up. Poke shallow holes through the rice (do not poke through to the bottom) and dot with 5 tablespoons of butter (or more!) and pour any cherry syrup over. Cover the lid with a dish towel and place firmly on top. Cook casserole on low on the stovetop for 35 minutes or bake in the oven at 350˚F for 45- minutes – this is my preferred way of cooking the rice. 
7. In a microwave melt 4 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in ground saffron. When rice is done, remove lid and pour saffron butter over, mixing it in lightly. Turn out rice into a serving dish. Remove tahdig and break into big pieces and serve separately. There is sugar in this recipe, so the tahdig can burn if you over cook the rice.