Hodgepodge 321/365 - Sour Cherry Rice (Abaloo Polow)

We're in Los Angeles this weekend for a wedding (more about that tomorrow!), staying in Woodland Hills on the edge of the San Fernando Valley. My brother lives not far away, in Van Nuys, so of course I proposed that we get together for dinner. He suggested three restaurants: one Japanese, one Indian, one Persian. I checked the websites, and although the photos on the Persian restaurant's site didn't look all that exciting, I settled on it anyway because that's one cuisine we just don't have in Monterey. And the reviews were good. And the place (it's called Shirin, a woman's name evidently) is right nextdoor to the hotel!

The menu was full of enticing possibilities, but the ones that especially appealed involved "special rice": rice with dill and baby lima beans; rice with lentils; rice with barberries; rice with sour cherries. Wait: rice with sour cherries?

I had to have it—and it was delicious! (It came with succulent chicken in a tomato sauce.) Now, I must try to make it myself. There are a few recipes online. A couple involve fresh sour cherries. As if. (They have a very short early-summer season and are difficult to find even then.) Others involve preserved sour cherries, which seems much more possible. Here's one (stolen with thanks from Jaden at Steamy Shortcuts—complete with her photos because they're yummerific):

Abaloo Polow

1 24-oz jar of sour cherries in light syrup (or 1 can sour pie cherry, light syrup), drained and syrup reserved
1/2 teaspoon saffron, soaked in 2 tablespoons hot water
3 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup butter, melted (clarified, if possible)
1 cup sugar

1. Wash and soak the basmati rice in water for 2 hours. (Optional, but it produces a more tender rice.)

2. Drain the rice. Fill a large pot with water and boil. Add the rice and boil on medium heat for 8 minutes exactly. Drain the rice and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. Drain. In the same pot over high heat, add half of the butter. When hot, add half of the drained rice. Pour half of the saffron+soaking water over the rice. Stir a bit. Add half of the drained cherries. Add remaining rice. Add rest of saffron+soaking water. Add remaining butter. Stir a bit. Add the remaining drained cherries. (Traditionally, this is done in a pyramid shape. The wider the pan you have, the more crusty rice crust you get.)

Wrap your lid with a thin kitchen towel and cover the pot. This helps the steam stay in the pot, which is important because you aren't adding any additional liquid to the pot. Cook on high for 10 minutes (to create a nice crunchy crust). Turn heat down to super-low for 20 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

3. While the rice is cooking, cook syrup + 1 cup sugar over medium heat for 30 minutes until it reduces down to a sweet, sticky syrup. Set aside.

4. When the rice is done, drizzle 1/2 cup of the syrup over the rice. See the nice crust of rice at the bottom of the pan? Its well known that household bribery, deception, and wars have erupted over who gets to eat that part!

Jaden likes jarred ZerGüt brand sour cherries (available at World Market). Cook's Illustrated recommends jarred Morello cherries available at Trader Joe's (apparently Morellos are sour? or at least tart?). Canned sour cherries for pie work in a pinch; make sure they're packed in light syrup, not heavy syrup. See photo below: the clear bowl contains boiled-down sugary syrup for drizzling on rice.

And for a thorough disquisition on how to make authentic Persian rice (without cherries), you might be interested in My Persian Kitchen's tutorial. It's not just a matter of throwing some water and rice in a saucepan or rice cooker, I'll tell ya!