KHORESHT FESENJAAN (CHICKEN WITH POMEGRANATE SAUCE)

Khoresht Fesenjaan (Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce) image

This is a well-known Persian dish of chicken with a pomegranate and walnut sauce. Khoresht Fesenjan should be served with white rice.

Provided by PFEIFFER

Categories World Cuisine Recipes Asian

Time 3h50m

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 11

Previous Next

Ingredients

½ cup vegetable oil
4 medium red onions, thinly sliced
3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces
2 cups hot water or as needed
2 ½ cups pomegranate juice
4 cups chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons freshly ground cardamom
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 medium butternut squash, seeded and cubed
¼ teaspoon saffron powder
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Steps:

Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Stir in sliced onions; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more.
Raise heat to medium-high. Add chicken pieces, and fry until lightly browned on the outside. Pour in the water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary to keep the mixture from drying out.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (65 degrees C).
Combine the walnuts and pomegranate juice in the container of a blender or food processor. Process into liquid. (This can be done in small batches if necessary.) Add walnut-pomegranate mixture to the simmering chicken. Season with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron powder, and salt. Stir in the cubed squash. Transfer the entire mixture to a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Bake, loosely covered, for 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Serve with white rice.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 742.5 calories, Carbohydrate 48.9 g, Cholesterol 85.1 mg, Fat 51.8 g, Fiber 6.2 g, Protein 28.6 g, SaturatedFat 8.8 g, Sodium 281.1 mg, Sugar 28.8 g