Faisinjan (chicken in walnut and pomegranate)
4 Servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| Stephen Ceideburg | ||
| 1 | Chicken | |
| Olive oil | ||
| 1 | Chopped onion | |
| 250 | grams | Walnuts, coarsely ground |
| 6½ | Pomegranates, juice only | |
| 1 | small | Lemon, juice only |
| 3 | tablespoons | Brown sugar |
| 1 | teaspoon | Ground cinnamon |
| Salt and pepper to taste | ||
Directions
This classic Persian dish was originally made with game birds, but is fine with chicken - or duck if you prefer. With its scattering of pomegranate seeds and walnuts it is very decora- tive.
Disjoint a chicken (or use chicken pieces) and brown in a little olive oil in a heavy pan with a lid. Remove the chicken and set aside. Brown a chopped onion in the remaining oil. Add 250 g very coarsely ground walnuts and cook gently for a minute or so.
Add the juice of 6½ pomegranates and 1 small lemon, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, a teaspoon ground cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and return the chicken to the pan. Cook gently for 1 ½ hours until very tender.
Taste and adjust the sweet-sour balance if necessary. Serve over steamed rice and scatter over the dish the seed sacs of the remaining half pomegranate and a handful of coarsely chopped walnuts.
Posted by Stephen Ceideburg
From an article by Meryl Constance in The Sydney Morning Herald, 5/11/93.
Courtesy Mark Herron.
From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini