Persian Pilaf with Sour Cherries and Red Lentils Chupa

[Guest guest]

I LOVE Persian food. This I just printed up.

Thanks, Donna

 

chupababi <alcovi wrote:

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Persian Pilaf with Sour Cherries and Red Lentils

2 c Basmati rice (I like the brown with sour cherries

2 Onions, peeled (thinly sliced)

1/2 c Red lentils

7 oz Sour cherries, or more, saving liquid

2 c broth (if salty, water it down so the total is 2 c)

4 T Butter, unsalted, or more

Turmeric, cumin, salt

 

 

In a 4-5 quart Dutch oven, melt most of the butter and slowly brown

the onions. Add the cleaned lentils and fry a bit; then the same for

the cleaned rice. Stir constantly, browning the rice without letting

it stick.

 

Add the cherries and about 2 1/4 cups liquid made up of cherry

liquid, stock and water. Add about 1/4 - 1 t turmeric and about 1/4 t

ground cumin if desired; add necessary salt (depending on the

saltiness of your broth). Bring to a boil, stir with a fork, cover

tightly, and let cook over the very lowest heat for about 20 minutes.

 

Fluff up the rice with a fork (never a spoon) and add the remaining

butter to the bottom of the pot. Raise the heat slightly for 5-10

mins to form a crust on the bottom (with the right technique, this

should be possible without this step...). Serve, making sure to

include a bit of crust in each serving.

 

NOTES: * Pilaf with sour cherries and lentils -- This Pilaf with sour

cherries and lentils is a Persian-style dish, although I cannot vouch

for its authenticity. IIt is rich enough to eat for dinner by itself;

as a side dish.

 

An excellent side dish is yoghurt, possibly flavored (like the Indian

raita) with one or more of: fresh chopped herbs (parsley, coriander,

mint), some salt, some spice (paprika, black pepper, black onion

seed, or coriander seed), olive oil and lemon juice. Even better than

yoghurt as a base is strained yoghurt, also called Lebany Spread or

Lebanee, (look in Armenian/Arab/Greek stores).

 

* Basmati or Patna rice is a particularly flavorful and long-grained

rice from India or Pakistan. Any Indian store and many " natural

foods " stores carry it. It is well worth the premium price. " Texmati "

is apparently the same strain grown in Texas, but does not have

anything like the same taste. Inspect and clean it before using,

there are often unhusked grains and occasionally pebbles mixed in.

Then rinse in two changes of water and drain thoroughly. If you

cannot get Basmati, use a good-quality unconverted long-grain rice

(Alma, Carolina, but NOT Uncle Ben's!).

 

* Red lentils are about half the diameter of ordinary brown lentils.

Do not substitute brown lentils, which will probably not cook fast

enough. Red lentils are available in Indian, Middle Eastern and

some " natural foods " stores. They often contain largish pebbles, so

inspect them carefully. Rinse to get rid of dust, and drain. Red

lentils are also very good by themselves, simply boiled with a few

spices and served with butter.

 

* Sour cherries (in the Middle East and Greek Vissino, Slavic and

Turkish Vishnea, Arabic Wishna) are available fresh for about one

week a year. Most sour cherries go into cherry syrups, pies and

preserves. Canned sour cherries are quite good. You will usually find

them in the home pie-making section of your market, near the canned

blueberries and baker's supplies, or with the canned fruits. There

are occasional stones. (That is, pits, not rocks!) Middle Eastern

stores will often have sour cherry preserves, which are too sweet for

this recipe.

 

* Almost any stock or broth will work in this recipe. but watch the

salt.

 

Difficulty: easy to moderate. :

Time: 30-40 minutes. : Precision: approximate measurement OK. :

Source: Stavros Macrakis

MC format by Chupa Babi: 021403

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