Title: Albaloo Polo (Cherry Pilau with Chicken)
Categories: Persian Israel Jewish Poultry Grain
Yield: 1 Servings

CHICKEN
1	md	(1/2 cup) onion, sliced
2	lb	Chicken parts -- legs, thighs, breast; loose skin & fat remo
1/4	ts	Ground turmeric
1/2	ts	Salt
1/8	ts	Pepper
2	tb	Corn oil
1/4	c	Water
CHERRY PILAU
1/3	c	Juice from canned cherries
1/4	c	Sugar
1/4	c	Almonds, toasted & blanched
1/3	c	Dried orange peel slivers, soaked in hot water
1	c	Sour cherries
1		Recipe Chelo (Basic Persian Rice see recipe)

Cherries & rice make one of most unexpected & exotic combinations, especially when supplemented w/orange peel & almond slivers. Fresh sour cherries are rare & seasonal, but when they are available can be pitted & frozen for future. Canned pitted sour cherries are always available in supermarkets.

1. Put onion on bottom of a saucepan, & cover w/ chicken pieces, turmeric, salt, pepper, oil, & water. Cover pan tightly & cook over low heat for 25 mins. Stir once or twice during this period to prevent burning. Should pan dry out too quickly add 2 to 3 tablespoon of water. Cook until chicken is tender & liquid has evaporated. Set aside.

2. Mix ingreds for cherry pilau together in a saucepan, bring to a boil, & simmer for 3 mins to prepare syrup.

Serve rice & pass cherry mixture & chicken separately. Serves 4 to 6.

NOTE: Fine slivers of orange peel may be prepared at home. Cut off the outer rind of orange peel, then scrape off & discard white pulp. Cut peel w/scissors into very thin julienne, 1-inch-long slices. Put them on a tray in a sunny window or other warm place and dry them for several days. Toss them now & then to ensure drying is uniform. Store in a jar w/a tight cover. When preparing peel for use, soak in hot water for 2 or 3 mins.

Recipe: "Sephardic Cooking" by Copeland Mark -- 600 Recipes Created in Exotic Sephardic Kitchens from Morocco to India -- Copyright 1992 Published by Donald I. Fine, Inc., New York, N.Y. D. Pileggi

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