For the chicken, Mix onion, garlic, sumac, aleppo pepper, saffron, and thyme. Stir in yogurt, and a nice couple pinches of salt, and mix in chicken thighs. Let marinate for a few hours before grilling.

For the lentils, soak a cup of lentils in water for an hour. drain and rince. Cook half an onion diced well in some oil to soften, about 8 minutes. Add in the lentils with a tablespoon of turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon of curry powder, and a few cloves. Salt well and add a few cups of water to cover the lentils. Cook 20 minutes, adding more water if it becomes dried out. Taste for tenderness and continue to cook until tender.

For the rice, boil the rice like pasta first until about 90% cooked, with just a little bit of bite left to it. Meanwhile soak dried cherries in a splash of vinegar, some water, and a pinch of saffron. Drain the rice. In a frying pan, melt a few tablespoons of butter. Press a layer of rice down onto the pan, then add half of the cherries. Add in the rest of the rice and top with more cherries. Cook on medium-high to brown the bottom of the rice nicely. When the rice is almost done, sprinkle the remaining cherry soaking liquid over the top of the rice. Flip out the rice onto a serving dish or large cutting board.

The salsa was just tomato, cucumber, parsley, aleppo pepper, and garlic.

The yogurt sauce was yogurt, onion, dried mint, and sumac