Khoresh Fesenjan
Pomegranate Chicken
Khoresh Fesenjan may be Iran's most famous dish and with good reason. This simple stew is easy to make, it requires very few ingredient and is both tasty and exotic. It was a perfect dish for a day like today, when I wasn't feeling cooking at all (indeed, I ended up serving it by itself, though Persian rice is recommended).
The only difficulty in making them is finding pomegranate concentrate. I saw pomegranate molasses at the Indian store, but it had a lot of not-great sounding ingredients. Instead, I bought 100% pomegranate juice and reduced it (I used a 32 oz bottle to make an 8 oz cup). It was easy enough.
All in all I was very happy with this dish, even though the supermarket didn't deliver the pomegranate seeds that would have completed it.
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Pomegranate Chicken
Ingredients
- 8 oz walnuts
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- 2 lbs bone-in chicken thighs or drumsticks, skin removed
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup pomegranate concentrate
- pomegranate seeds to taste (optional)
Directions
Using a mini-chopper, food processor, blender or mortar, puree the walnuts. Gradually add the water and blend into a paste. Set aside.
Heat oil over medium heat in a large saute or sauce pan. Add sliced onions and saute until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, remove from the pan and set aside.
Add chicken pieces to the sauce pan. Top with the onions and then spoon the walnut paste on top. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with the pomegranate concentrate. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for another hour or until the chicken falls off the bone and the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally.
Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, if using.
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Adapted from Homas's recipe at Persian Mama
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