Kasi Kitchen
Fesenjoon
Fesenjoon is a nutty Persian chicken stew that boasts deliciously subtle layers of flavour thanks to pomegranate molasses, tomatoes and spices.
Ingredients
- 250g/9oz walnut halves
- 2 ice cubes
- 125ml/4½fl oz pomegranate molasses, plus extra to taste
- 1 tbsp concentrated tomato purée
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp caster sugar, plus extra to taste
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 800g/1¾lb chicken thighs, bone-in, skin removed
- pomegranate seeds, to garnish (optional)
- steamed rice, to serve
Method
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Grind the walnuts as finely as possible in a food processor until they have the consistency of peanut butter and the walnut crumbs are starting to stick together like a dough.
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Transfer the ground walnuts into a large, lidded casserole dish and pour over 1 litre/1¾ pints of the cold water. Bring the mixture to the boil for 4–5 minutes, then reduce the heat until the mixture is simmering.
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Simmer the walnut mixture, half-covered with the casserole lid, for 2 hours, adding the remaining 200ml/7fl oz of cold water and 2 ice cubesafter an hour. Stir occasionally throughout to make sure the walnuts don’t stick to the bottom of the casserole. After 2 hours, the walnut sauce should have thickened and darkened in colour.
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Stir in the pomegranate molasses, tomato purée, cinnamon, sugar, salt and pepper until well combined. Return the mixture to a simmer.
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Add the chicken thighs, return the mixture to a simmer, then place the lid on the dish and cook gently over a low heat for 1 hour. Remove the lid for the last 10 minutes of cooking to allow the sauce to thicken. Season, to taste, with more sugar (for sweet) or pomegranate molasses (for sour).
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Garnish the dish with a handful of pomegranate seeds, if using, and serve with steamed rice.
Fesenjoon