There are times when I wish I can go ahead and do a post without much of an introduction. Just do the post… then I wonder, would my readers accept it? I really don’t know… Many of you are used to reading something or the other to begin a post, and I am used to it too. If I don’t do it, then I feel a pinch of guilt within me for not taking an effort to start the post with a subject. But being human, at times, we are just left to be blank. The mind doesn’t give in. It acts just opposite of the way we want it to be. At that time, the best to do is not to pressurize it, which in turn will put undue stress on our whole system. Does it make any sense? 🙂
Last week, we had some lovely climate in the form of drizzles over the week, though we all had some of the other bout of infection and illness. The worst affected was me – after long I had a severely clogged nose, croaky throat and a heavy head. It lasted the whole week and made me feel awful. Alhamdulillah, feeling much better now…
I have already shared a few Persian recipes on the blog previously. I have been very vocal on how much I love their cuisine. This is another gravy that I had tried, following Fami’s post. I had never had Fesenjan before, but her post tempted me to go ahead and make it. Though I didn’t stick to her recipe, I went around Google looking for options and adapted the recipe to use ingredients that we all can have in hand. Fesenjan is a homely chicken gravy, where the chicken is cooked in a walnut and pomegranate mixture. It sounds interesting, right? But if you are wondering about the flavors, I assure you – this is amazing with a plate of plain white rice! HD kept going on and on with “oohs” and “aahs”, then I kept blushing. 😉 Normally pomegranate molasses are used, but I made it with freshly squeezed pomegranate juice and it was truly amazing. Off to the recipe…
Fesenjan ~ Persian Chicken Stew with Walnuts and Pomegranate
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken cut into small pcs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 25 gm butter
- 2 onions minced
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika powder optional
- 1 cup walnuts roasted and powdered
- 1 cup pomegranate juice
- 1 cup water
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil. Fry the chicken briefly on both sides for around 4 minutes each. Drain and keep aside.
- Add the butter and allow to melt. Add the onions and saute till wilted.
- Add back the chicken along with the powders and coat well.
- Add the powdered walnut and pomegranate juice, along with water. Mix well.
- Cook on simmer till the chicken is well cooked and the mixture thickens.
- Add salt and serve hot with rice.
Yummm looks very rich and delicious
Thanks a lot Nammi…
Love that thick gravy coating the chicken ❤.lip smacking????
Thanks a lot Nusrath… 🙂
Wow, looks creamy. Is it OK to substitute any other nuts for walnut. Wanna try tomorrow
You can try with almonds, but do try to keep a part of walnuts. Thanks a lot Febi…
That sauce looks fantastic!
Thanks a lot Angie…
Wow! My Kashmiri clan is soo fond of walnuts I bet they’d love this!
Thank you so much Bibi…
some different ingredients from usual…
Thanks a lot Amrita…
Pomegranate juice in Chicken ,that sounds fantastic!!
Thank you so much Sharmila…
Walnuts and pomegranate as ingredients for a chicken dish!! Love to give it a try Rafeeda.. Loos delicious..
Thank you so much Seena…
I am so glad you tried this! Even we were super surpirsed with the flavour that it left us with wanting more.. I got to make this again soon.. InshaAllah. And about your intro – doesnt make sense and that is exactly that happens to me! Lol. I will be taking it so easy not letting the “need to blog” thought stress me, but that very taking so easy is what stessed me out later.. lol.
Haha… I am in that kind of a situation now… I am already planning to make this again once my parents go back… Thanks a lot Fami..
I’m a huge fan of thick, creamy chicken curries and this looks like I could fall in love with it! Thank you so much for sharing. Will definitely give it a go 🙂
The pomegranate juice in it ,makes it unique…I wonder how it tastes…Got to try it…Isn’t it amazing to see so many different ways to cook using different ingredients