I can’t help but smile when I think of sour cherries! Cherries are a highly prized fruit that has found its way into many parts of Persian cuisine, both as a savory and as a sweet ingredient. This dish is another Caspian Sea regional specialty that integrates sour cherries into a stew in the company of small chicken meatballs, all in a gloriously beautiful and tasty saffron broth.
In Farsi, small meatballs are called Ghel Gheli or
My challenge has always been maintaining uniformity in the meatball size. Even though I start with the right size meatballs, to my surprise, they seem to get progressively larger as I get impatient!
Khoresh albaloo
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken thighs, or breasts or combination
- 1 small onion, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons flour, rice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons ghee, or olive oil
Stew
- 3 tablespoons ghee, or olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups water, hot
- 3 cups cherries, pitted fresh or frozen
- 1/2 teaspoon saffron, ground dissolved in 3 tablespoons hot water
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh , optional
- 1-2 tablespoons sugar, optional
Garnish
- 1 tablespoon ghee, or olive oil
- 2 tablespoons pistachios, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons almonds, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon rose petals, optional
Instructions
- Place all the ingredients for the meatballs with the exception of the oil in a large mixing bowl. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients to create a smooth paste and form the paste into a small walnut-sized (about 2 tablespoons) balls.
- Chicken meatballs tend to get sticky so plan on having a small bowl of water to wet your fingers as you make the meatballs or wash your hands frequently when they get too sticky.
- In a large skillet, melt the ghee over medium-high heat and begin to lightly brown the meatballs on all sides, about 10 minutes. Because of the small size of meatballs, you might have to repeat this process a few times depending on the size of your skillet. Set aside.
- In a dutch oven, melt the ghee and saute the onions for 15 minutes over medium heat until they are lightly golden and softened. Â
- Add the salt, pepper, and spices and saute for an additional minute before adding the water and the sauteed meatballs. Cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes.
- Add the cherries and the saffron dissolved in hot water, cover and continue to cook over low heat for an additional 30 minutes.
- Adjust the stew by adding sugar and lime juice to your taste.
- For the garnish, melt the ghee in a small saucepan and saute the pistachios and almonds over low heat over 1 minute.
- Pour the stew in a serving bowl and garnish with the toasted nuts and sprinkle the rose petals on top. Serve with steamed basmati rice.