Albaloo Polow, Sour cherry Pilaf(Rice with Sour cherries)

A couple of days ago  I found out that I have got a packet of  sour cherries left in the freezer  so I decided to cook Albaloo polow, Albaloo is sour cherry in Farsi,  I usually freeze some summer fruits such as different types of berries for winter use,  I love sour cherry a lot,  I don't like sweet taste in many foods but this  polow is something special, Albaloo polow is delicious combination of sweet and sour taste, I like to taste  actual flavor of every ingredients in foods instead of expulsion of supper power adviyeh(spices).


Ingredinets
3 cups rice (long grain)
1/3 cup sugar
4cups sour cherries
 oil (canola oil)
1 table spoon (Adviyeh for polow)....how to make mixed iranian spice or adviyeh: mix 1tea spoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 2 tea spoons ground dried petal rose, 1 tea spoon ground cardamom)
1 teaspoon saffron
600 gr chicken filet
2 medium onions


Direction


wash and soak  rice in salty water for a few hours,
prepare saffroon by brewing saffron powder in a cup of boiling water,
Lets see what we will do with sour cherries, this part is time consuming , you should  make sure all of them are pitted!! Add sugar onto the top of sour cherries and then stir it gentley with your hand and set it aside for 30 minutes,

This part is like  making jam, but the syup doesn't have as thick consistency as jam, put sourcherries  in a  pan on a medium  heat,  stir it for a while, then let it simmer,  when it s perfectly done  remover from  heat  and  set it aside,

In the meantime,  cook chicken filtes with sliced onions and a cup of water, add a pinch of salt , 2 table spoons of prepared saffroon  and  add adviyeh to the chicken,cover it  to cook  for 20 mins or until the water level reduced,  remove  the remianing  juice and set it aside, add a table spoon of oil to the pan and stir fry chicken filtes for a short while until  they turn golden, you can skip this part if you are on any special diet,

In a heavy sauce pan or pot  bring  9-10 cups of water to a boil , drain the soaked rice  and add  it to the boiling water... reduce the heat to the medium heat to stop boiling ...
TIP:
 you can add a table spoon of white vinegar to the boiling water , this will preserve the white and pearly color of the rice.

drain the rice after 7 mins( for basmati ) 4 mins for iranian rice.....this part is very important  because you should watch the rice carefully to not
over cook it, the rice grains should be  half cooked or barely cooked NOT FULLY cooked. try one or two grains to see if it is ready.

try and test the rice to see if it is salty or not, if it s salty stream water over the drained rice , don't rinse rice thoroughly...just that  much to dissolve the extra salt.

rinse the sauce pan or pot  you  parboiled rice, pour 2 table spoons of melted butter or canola oil in the pan and arrange the already  peeled and sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pot,
then  place the parboiled rice over the potato slices , mound it  to form a pyramid...and  pour 2 table spoons melted butter or canola oil, add chicken filets as additional layer over the rice and sprinkle the  preserved   chicken broth over the rice, cover the pot with  its lid wraped by a clean cloth and cook it for 10 minutes over the medium heat , then reduce the heat  to low to prevent burning the bottom . when rice is ready add sour cherries to the rice and chciken and sprinke saffroon over it and mix it gently ,add pistachio flakes on top of the rice before serving !  

Khoresh Qurmeh Sabzi( Ghormeh sabzi, vegetable and meat Stew)

A: " what is your favorite dish?"

Iranian: " Qurmeh sabzi!!!"

 yes, we Iranians love Qurmeh sabzi,  you may not like Qurmeh sabzi when you eat it for the first time but  I promise you  that  you will  be hooked to it  after the second try. Qurmeh sabzi  is one of those  appetizing dishes,  this stew is a hit for Iranians and miss with non Iranians.  most of non Iranians  don't know much about  this very popular stew. I don't want to exaggerate because some people can hate it , but as far as I know people simply love it. The stew  comes with rice, actually Iranians eat all kind of stews over Rice.

Ingredients: 

2 medium onions .....diced finely 

1 teaspoon  turmeric 

450 gr  meat ( stewing meat or lamb chops)

1/3 cup kidney beans 

3 cups fresh parsley (finely chopped )

2 cups cilantro (finely chopped )

1cup fenugreek (finely chopped )

1cup chives (finely chopped)  or persian leek

1/2 cup spinach( finely chopped)

salt and pepper   for taste

5 dried persian limes ( limoo amani)....I like sour taste  so I usually add more dried lime)

Direction

 Soak beans over night, next day  half cook beans separately,  when I want to cook  beans I usually boil  it for a few minutes, and drain the water , I repeat it twice , this way  beans do not make the stew color  darker or reddish brown  and most important  it prevents  blowing gas!!!! LOL

Dice onions finely , saute onion in oil until translucent, add meat (cut meat in 2cm cubes or use lamb chops)

add turmeric  and stir well , allow  meat to become brown  all sides.

 Add turmeric and , season with pepper (just a pinch of black  pepper) , add 3 glasses of water and cover it and cook it for about an hour, some people add  dried limes and salt too,  but I prefer to not add salt and lime at this stage because it will longer the time of cooking, as salt and sour stuff would harden the meat)

In the meantime break the dried limes into  halves and removes seeds completely, remember  that seeds would give your stew  bitter taste so you rather remove them  completely . (you can see the cleaned and broken  limes in above picture), fry finely chopped  vegetables  in  2 tablespoons oil  or 1  ..depends on your diet,  until its water evaporates and u smell the aroma , don't over fry it  at all,

Add half cooked beans  fried vegetables and dried limes to the meat  , add salt just to taste , add 2 cups water and cover it  and cook it  for 2 more hours.(or 1.30 hours)

Take the first munch and  your eyes will be widened in delight !!!!!!!!! Nooshe jaan

Khoresh Aloo... (prune and chicken stew )

It has been a  while since I've posted  a recipe! I have been  buried   in a bunch of  things but  here I am  with a new chicken recipe and  pitted prune. I just wanted to make a delicious comeback!!

ingredients

chicken 1 kg

pitted prunes  400 gr

2 onions 

Saffron  1/2 teaspoon

turmeric 1/2 teaspoon

oil of your own choice  2 table spoons

4   carrots

 fresh lime or lemon juice 2 table spoon

lemon zest 1 teaspoon ( you can use orange zest   or orange peels)

water 2 glasses

salt and pepper to taste

Direction

wash and soak dried pitted prunes  for about an hour,  peel and slice onions fry in   one table spoon oil until golden and soft. Add chicken and stir-fry it until chicken color changes,  add lemon zest or peels, turmeric and  a pinch of salt and black pepper, they give   such a lovely flavor to your food,  add  enough water and cook  over the medium heat for about 15 minutes,  meanwhile  cut  carrots  lengthwise into 2 inches length and  add them into a frying pan with a table spoon of oil and a table spoon of water  and cook for about 5 minutes or until  its juice/water  is gone , I think this way is better  than frying  carrots  and set it aside, after 15 minutes, add prunes and fresh lemon juice into chicken , let it simmer for 10 minutes, bring   a cup of water into a boil,steep saffron in a boiling water and cover the cup for  2 minutes, then add saffron water into the  food, , finally add carrots  and let it simmer for another 5 minutes, after that  our Khoresh is ready to be served with  rice . Nooshe Jaan!

Khoresh Fesenjaan, chicken in walnut and pomegranate paste

walnut and pomegranate combination is one of  my favorites, but I can't take the  credit of uniting these two yummy tastes, older generation of Iran is responsible for this  tasty attack,   not only tasty but healthy!
genius   right? genius and perfectly done!  I am sure once you eat it you will be hooked, this food is so try-worthy ,
lets get started!


Khoresh fesenjaan:


ingredients:
1 cup walnut   finely chopped/ground or minced


1/2-1 cup pomegranate paste dissolved in water....or  2 -3 cups pomegranate juice 9if pomegranate paste is not available)
600 gr boneless chicken ...


water and chicken stock (3  large cups)
2  medium onions  finely chopped
1/2 tea spoon cinnamon ....optional
2 table spoon    oil  of your own choice  .... I prefer walnut oil ..or  grape seed oil
salt to taste


direction:
 1- fry chopped onions in  2 table spoon oil  for about 4 mins only to tender them , add chicken pieces and fry them until they change the color 
2- grind walnuts, some people  mince walnuts finely  but I prefer to have crunchy texture for this stew, add the grounded walnuts into the pan and stir the mixture of chicken onion and walnut for a while up to grounded walnuts release its fragrance just like toasting them . do not burn the walnuts while frying the mixture, 
3- add a cup of water into the pan and let it simmer covered  over the  medium/low heat , after 15-20 mins add another cup of water or stock, let it simmer for another 20 mins,  I add water to the mixture gradually  to help walnuts to release its oil, 
4-after 20  mins add pomegranate juice or its paste and let it simmer for  20 mins   you should remember to stir it occasionally ,you can add salt ,  a table spoon of sugar and  cinnamon to taste as per your choice, I prefer to have sour  taste  in fesenjan without cinnamon and sugar, the mixture should not be too thick or thin , when it is ready, serve it with plain rice,

Enjoy fesenjaan !

Zereshk polo.. Barberry pilaf

This pilaf looks really elegant and mouth watering,  t is served in most ceremonies either  wedding parties , funerals  or family gatherings, I like barberry   a lot, it s grown in  northeast of Iran  in  southern Khorasan  province, the land of saffron and barberry...Iranian barberry is seedless and the best in the world  therefore it s the best choice to dry and use it for  cooking as an additive. 

servings:  4 

ingredients:

 3 cups  long grain  rice 

2 table spoons butter....3 table spoons  vegetable oil

1 cup dried barberry

2 table spoons grated orange zest

500-750 gr  chicken .or.. u can use legs and chicken breast..I usually  halve chicken breast.. for example 2 legs and  2 halved chicken breasts.

1 large onion peeled, sliced in circles, 

2 table spoons  orange zest

ground black pepper and salt

2 table spoons  pistachio flakes

 water

  1 tea spoon      saffron

2 table spoon tomato paste 

a pinch of cinnamon 

1 or 2 table spoons  lime juice ....based on your own taste if  you like sour taste or semi sour)

  Direction

  

TIP :

if you are using Iranian long grain rice.. .soak it at least  2-4 hours AHEAD.  .. 4 hours timing or even more  is very  ideal... for any type of rice:  first wash it by running warm water  until  draining water becomes clear , after washing   rice , soak it in  a bowl of salty water..for Iranian rice  add 3 tablespoons  of salt to the water and let it soak for  2-4 hours ... using less salt for soaking Basmati rice would have a better result...(soaking time for Basmati rice: 1 hour  

1- In a heavy sauce pan or pot  bring  9 cups of water to a boil , drain the soaked rice  and add  it to the boiling water... reduce the heat to the medium heat to stop boiling ...

TIP:
 you can add a table spoon of white vinegar to the boiling water , this will preserve the white and pearly color of the rice.

drain the rice after 7 mins( for basmati ) 4 mins for iranian rice.....this part is very important  because you should watch the rice carefully to not
over cook it, the rice grains should be  half cooked or barely cooked NOT FULLY cooked. try one or two grains to see if it is ready.

try and test the rice to see if it is salty or not, if it s salty stream water over the drained rice , don't rinse rice thoroughly...just that  much to dissolve the extra salt

rinse the sauce pan or pot  you  parboiled rice,add 1 table spoon of canola oil or butter in the pan and arrange the already  peeled and sliced potatoes on the bottom of the pot,
then  place  the parboiled rice over the potato slices....mound it  to form a pyramid...and  pour1 table spoon melted butter  plus 1 or 2 table spoons vegetable oil. over the rice. wrap the pan's lid with a clean towel  and cover the pan with the lid to absorb  steam.

2-while the rice is cooking  prepare  chicken ..you can cook chicken in  the oven  or in a pan over the  medium heat ...add chicken, 1 table spoon oil of your own choice  it can be olive oil ,canola oil , grape seed oil or even butter.. sliced  onions,  a pinch of salt, black pepper  , cinnamon  .. to make a tomato paste sauce :   dissolve  saffron powder in small cup of  boiling water , cover the  cup with a suitable lid  and set it aside, then dissolve  2 table spoons of tomato paste in a cup of water, add lime juice and 1 table spoon of prepared saffron  to the sauce.. pour the sauce over the chicken,  cover the pan with  aluminum foil and cook it in the oven until chicken is cooked through......

3- wash  dried barberries, heat a table spoon of  veg oil or  butter over medium heat in a  suitable frying pan , add dried barberries plus  one table spoon of finely ground white sugar and pistachio flakes   in to a pan,  stir-fry  for about 2 mins only , 

4- in a small sauce pan bring water to a boil...add orange zest to the boiling water . reduce the heat  and let it simmer for 2 or 3 mins ..drain them  and repeat the procedure again until orange zests taste sweet  ... this will  sweeten the zest...I prefer to stir fry them too for a min.  as well.

when ready to serve, take 2 spatulas full of rice and gently fold  in  prepared barberries , pistachio flakes and  saffron  

 place a layer of white  rice on the large serving platter, and spread the mixture of  barberry and saffroned  rice over the white rice ..finally sprinkle orange zests over the rice.... then  serve it with chicken .... enjoy!