Years ago I wanted to make my Iranian friend some Persian food to see if I could make something that reminded him of home. I was looking around YouTube and saw a recipe for fesenjoon/fesenjan which is a walnut pomegranate stew (khoresh) that looked amazing! This was the first Persian food I ever made. In my opinion, Iran has some of the most incredible food in the world. The kebabs. The ghormeh sabzi (herbs, beans and lamb or beef). The Ash Reshteh (herbs, noodles and beans). The flavors are incredible! I've made this Persian pomegranate walnut stew many times over the years and it's one of the best dishes I've ever eaten.
What is Khoresh Fesenjan/Persian fesenjoon?
Fesenjoon (fesenjan) is a stew (khoresh) made with pomegranate molasses and ground walnuts. It's a slightly sweet and tart stew from Azerbaijan according to Wikipedia. It's a popular special occasion stew in Iran and this is how I learned of it. My best friend is from Iran and I wanted to learn how to prepare this so I could make for him.
The heart of this khoresh is the incredibly rich pomegranate and walnut gravy that cooks a couple of hours before you add the chicken. I never would have thought these two ingredients could make something so incredibly delicious.
with persian fesenjoon you can add some extras if you want
The four staple ingredients for fesenjoon are chicken, onion, pomegranate molasses and walnuts. If you used only these ingredients you will make an outstanding stew. What I noticed while researching authentic recipes from Iran and testing this stew many different ways is that they were all delicious! There's almost no way to screw it up except if you add too much water!! So watch the water level.
My Iranian friend jokes with me because when I attempt to make a Persian dish he says I make the "royal" version. Meaning, I add a couple of extra things that make it fancier which he loves, but that don't have to be there. He bought me a Persian Cookbook called Bottom of the Pot, by Naz Deravian which is fantastic. The first recipe I made from that book was Koofteh Tabrizi (stuffed meatballs). When he took the first bite he said, "Royal version." And I was like "You bought me the book - it's filled with 'royal versions!'" By the way, the Koofteh Tabrizi from that book was insanely delicious.
With fesenjoon, I do add saffron, orange peel, and cinnamon sticks. I also think if you want to mellow out the tartness of the pomegranate molasses, you should add a little sugar. So those are my "add-ons."
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
You'll also be the first to hear about new recipes in my weekly-ish newsletter! 🙂
Some tips for making this persian pomegranate walnut stew
- Roasting the walnuts. Yes, you can do this in a pan or in the oven. I preferred the oven for this because they cook more evenly. I love roasting nuts in general. And I do think roasting them gives the fesenjoon a better flavor.
- Pomegranate molasses. You can find this in most Middle Eastern markets or you can order on Amazon. I've tried an 8 ounce bottle, a 14 ounce bottle, but found the 10-ounce bottle to be the perfect amount.
- Making your own pomegranate molasses. Been there, tried that. I found it did not change the flavor at all. Also, it's more expensive to buy a bottle of pomegranate juice and reduce it down... not to mention time consuming. The bottled stuff works great.
- Saffron. I realize that can be a little pricey, but I've seen two brands at my local grocery store: McCormick and Badia. The Badia brand is a more affordable option.
- Cooking the pomegranate walnut mixture. Be very careful with the heat and make sure you keep your eye on the pot. You have to keep stirring throughout the cooking process and make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
easy steps for making khoresh fesenjan
Khoresh Fesenjan (Persian Pomegranate Walnut Stew)
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 portions 1x
Description
Khoresh Fesenjan (Fesenjoon) is an amazing Persian pomegranate walnut stew made with slow-cooked pomegranate molasses and ground walnuts. Served over saffron rice and perfect dinner for a small group.
Ingredients
- 1 pound bag of walnuts (16 ounces)
- 10-ounce bottle of pomegranate molasses
- 2 cups of water
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 6-8 bone-in chicken thighs (skin removed, fat trimmed)
- Salt for chicken
- 2 tablespoons of butter, more if needed
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, more if needed
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
- 4-5 orange peels (optional)
- ½ teaspoon saffron, divided (to make 2 ramekins of saffron water)
- 1 small container of pomegranate seeds (produce section of grocery store)
For the basmati rice
- 3 cups basmati rice, cook to package instructions (I used extra long basmati)
- 1 ½ tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Saffron water
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
You'll also be the first to hear about new recipes in my weekly-ish newsletter! 🙂
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread out the bag of walnuts on a sheet pan and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. It’s good to do this first because the walnuts need to be cooled down before we grind them in the food processor.
- Peel one large onion, cut in half, then cut into slices and set aside.
- With the chicken thighs there are two steps. First, rip the big layer of chicken skin off the top. Then, using kitchen shears, trim the fat from around the edges and bottom of the chicken thighs. If you need help, I have a how to trim the fat from chicken thighs tutorial that can assist. Keep in fridge until 20 minutes before you need them.
- Once walnuts have cooled, add to food processor and grind for a minute or two. My video shows the consistency the walnuts should be very well.
- Add the ground walnuts to a large pot. The pot should be at least 6 quarts. Then add the entire bottle of pomegranate molasses. Fill the empty pomegranate bottle with water and transfer to your measuring cup. I like to get all the molasses from inside the bottle too. Add water to the pot. Mix to combine. Heat should be low-to-medium here. Put lid on the pan – this should be covered while cooking. Cook for two hours and continuously stir the mixture. Scrap the bottom of pot with spatula to make sure nothing is sticking there or it will burn. The mixture should be at a low simmer (slightly boiling) during this time. If it’s boiling too much – turn the heat down. If it’s sticking to the bottom – turn the heat down.
- While that is cooking finish the other prep, but don’t forget to keep stirring! J If you’re using the orange peels start there. Simply run your peeler across the orange (more like a graze really). We don’t want too much of the white layer since it can be a little bitter. You just need about 4-5 peels here. Set aside.
- The saffron water. You’ll need two small ramekins or bowls for this. Put a ¼ cup of room temperature water in each bowl. You’ll need ¼ teaspoon of saffron for each bowl. You can grind it down a little or not – it’s up to you. I just pinched the saffron threads a little with my fingers, then added to the water. Set both bowls of saffron water aside to allow them to steep for at least 10-15 minutes. One is for the stew and one is for the saffron rice. They can sit longer on the counter – it’s fine. They will become a beautiful, bright yellow.
- Don’t forget to keep stirring the walnut and pomegranate mixture.
- When you’re nearing the 2-hour mark for the pomegranate and walnut to be finished cooking, take chicken out of fridge and let sit on counter for 20 minutes. Next, salt the chicken with a light sprinkling of salt on both sides of the chicken thighs.
- Heat a large pan on medium heat and melt the butter and olive oil. Cook the chicken (top side down) for 5-7 minutes to brown. Then turn chicken and cook two more minutes. Transfer to a plate or small sheet pan. You may need to cook the chicken in two batches. I used 8 chicken thighs so did two batches.
- Keep any olive oil, butter or chicken fat in the pan and add the onions. Add a little more butter if needed. Cook the onions 8-10 minutes on medium heat until soft and a bit browned. Add onions to the chicken sheet pan.
- At the 2-hour mark, add the sugar, cinnamon sticks and orange peel to the pomegranate walnut mixture and stir to combine.
- Transfer the chicken, onions and any juices from the sheet pan into the pot. My pot was a little crowded, but it’s fine. Gently push the chicken down and mix until the chicken is mostly covered. If the “gravy” is a little too thick just add a tiny amount of water to thin it out. Like maybe ¼ cup. Not too much, this stew should be somewhat thick and not runny.
- Add ½ of ONE of the ramekins of saffron water. We’ll add the other half at the end. Give it a stir again. Cook on low-to-medium heat for about one hour to an hour and ten minutes. The internal temperature of the chicken should be 165 degrees.
- While the chicken is cooking, swap the chicken pieces on the bottom of the pot with the ones on the top about half way through cooking. Stir throughout the process as well to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- After you add the chicken, plan your time with making the rice. I used my rice cooker to make the basmati rice. Follow the package instructions here. I do always add butter and salt to my rice at the beginning of the process.
- When the fesenjoon is ready, the rice should be ready. Remove about 2 heaping cups of the cooked rice and put in a bowl. Add the saffron water to the rice and mix until all the rice is bright yellow.
- Transfer the remaining cooked rice to a large bowl or serving platter, then spoon the saffron rice over the top.
- Garnish the rice platter with pomegranate seeds if you like, but this is optional. Serve remaining seeds on the side.
- Everyone can serve themselves from the main pot of fesenjoon or you can transfer the chicken to a large serving bowl – it’s up to you. Enjoy!
Leave a Comment