Persian Pomegranate Chicken (Fesenjan)

Persian Pomegranate Chicken (Fesenjan) Cancel reply

Rachel

Absolutely delicious. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs and I added a diced honeynut squash. It is so simple to make, yet so flavorful and comforting. Also I finely chopped my walnuts instead of blended them and really enjoyed the texture they added to the stew. Thank you!

xxxxxyyyyy
- December 13, 2020
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Maryam

Hi, thank you so much for the nice food you make. I am Persian just want to let you know that in fesenjan we great the onion nd there is no need of oil inside your food as walnut itself has enough. The fesenjan is combination of walnut and pomegranate paste. To make sure it tast nice you add the chicken almost at the end (cook it separately). The original food has no spice except tumeric. No need of salt instead use more pomegranate paste and if you like it sweet add some sugar. This food can be prepared with meatballs as well. The walnut should be cooked on low heat for while for better result.
Anyway thank you so very much for making Persian food. Enjoy❤️
- October 29, 2020
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Show Replies (2)
- Elise Bauer
  
  Thank you for your feedback Maryam!
  - October 29, 2020
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- Giovanna Crisi
  
  Hi Maryam and Elise, my husband is Persian and as such came to love Persian food (and people). For the Fesenjan, I do not roast the walnuts, and cook ground nuts and pomegreanate juice or diluted paste for at least 3 hours on a low flame. I add the browned onions, chicken and saffron last and continue cooking until chicken has been well impregnated with the flavors. No additional condiments used. I make the walnut/pomegranate sauce in large batches and freeze. My question is how long can I keep the sauce (without chicken) in the fridge? thank you. Giovanna
  - December 22, 2020
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  - Sara Bir
    
    Hi Giovanna, thanks for sharing how you make fesenjan. That’s a great idea to make batches of the sauce ahead of time for freezing! How long would one keep in the fridge? Hmm, I’d say no longer than 5 days.
    December 26, 2020
    
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Susan

Can you slow-cook this. Want to cook today.
- October 26, 2020
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Show Replies (1)
- Sara Bir
  
  Hi Susan, we’ve not tried it, but a reader named Sherry has. She commented: “You can absolutely cook it in a slow cooker. Just transfer it in the slow cooker after chicken is browned and onions fried. I then added boiling stock, covered and waited until it started to simmer. Added spices, walnuts and molasses after about 20min and left it on a low for about 2h. Kept it on warm until guests arrived!”
  - October 27, 2020
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ECor

Hi Elise,
My husband is allergic to all tree nuts (so basically everything but peanuts). What would you suggest is place in walnuts or other nuts? Thanks!
- September 2, 2020
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Show Replies (2)
- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi ECor, the walnuts are so fundamental to this dish, I cannot think of a substitution that would work, sorry!
  - September 2, 2020
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- ZenMomma
  
  I am also allergic to tree nuts & agree you need some comparable substitute. I’m going to try it with flaxseeds. I tasted them alone & feel like they would provide similar texture & nutty warmth as ground nuts. Mine already taste toasty so I may add without toasting.
  - January 9, 2021
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  - Sara Bir
    
    How did this turn out with the flax seeds? Since they get mucilaginous in liquid, I hope a large amount didn’t get gluey in the stew. I’m guessing pumpkin seeds might be a better sub.
    January 10, 2021
    
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Barton

I use coconut sugar instead. Mega on point!!!! We let this slow cook longer and very amazing. Not much Iranian food around me. Only one place makes fesenjan but the best closed down years ago. This is amazing for at home make it all the time

xxxxxyyyyy
- July 27, 2020
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Show Replies (1)
- Elise Bauer
  
  Great idea to use coconut sugar, Barton, thanks for sharing!
  - July 28, 2020
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Nancy

I was craving Pomegranate chicken legs that I used to get at a Mediterranean restaurant about 25 years ago so I decided to google a recipe and came across this. I’ve never had this dish before so I don’t know what it should taste like, but my whole family LOVED it and fought over the leftovers! It’s takes a bit of work (roasting, chopping, browning, etc) but it’s not complex. I did add a little extra nutmeg and cinnamon along with 1/2 teaspoon of cumin; reduced sugar to 1 T. Will definitely make it again – and looking forward to serving to my family and friends!

xxxxxyyyyy
- July 13, 2020
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Lizzie

Hello,
I am about to prepare this recipe and I would like to know whether Fesenjan can be frozen? Thank you in advance.
- July 9, 2020
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- Elise Bauer
  
  Hi Lizzie, I haven’t tried freezing the Fesenjan but I don’t see why it wouldn’t freeze fine.
  - July 9, 2020
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Golnaz

As an iranian , I don’t think your recipe is a Fesenjan.
it might be tasty but it is not fesenjan. The main point of Persian stews is slow cooking. As far as I know we mince the walnut and put it in a sauce pan with a little bit of water and let it be cooked and release the oil. if you want to know the full recipe let me know.
- July 6, 2020
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- Audrius
  
  Hello! I am looking for authentic fesenjan recipe :)
  - July 8, 2020
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- Sara Bir
  
  Golnaz, thank you for your comment. We’d love to hear more about your recipe!
  - July 9, 2020
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- Barton
  
  Please let me know your recipe.
  - July 27, 2020
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Noor

Don’t judge a book by its cover. I was hesitant to try your recipe because you are
obviously a Caucasian lady with a German sounding name. I thought to myself, “how authentic can this recipe be? Have the flavours been toned down to suit Western tastebuds?” Happily, I WAS WRONG. This is the best Fesenjan recipe I have tried to date. I didn’t add the tablespoons of sugar, but besides that, I followed this recipe pretty religiously. It came out amazing. I loved the first bite so much, I could cry. This goes to show that you don’t have to be Iranian to cook authentic Iranian food. I learned a humble lesson today. Keep up the great cooking.

xxxxxyyyyy
- June 30, 2020
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- Elise Bauer
  
  Thank you so much for your comment Noor! I’m so glad you like the Fesenjan; it’s one of my favorite chicken dishes to make.
  - June 30, 2020
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Jayne

I am allergic to walnuts could I replace them with macadamia nuts?
- June 8, 2020
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- Sara Bir
  
  Hi Jayne,
  
  I don’t see why you couldn’t make this with macadamia nuts instead of walnuts. The flavor will be different, as walnuts are a bit bitter and they help offset the sweetness of the pomegranate molasses…but hey, should allergies keep you from enjoying modified recipes–particularly as a way to explore the dishes of other cultures? No way! Be well, and please let us know how this works for you.
  - June 9, 2020
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Sharon

I am taking away a star because it was way too sweet. Other than that it was perfect. I will definitely make this again and omit the sugar. The pomegranate molasses already has over 1/4 cup of sugar. When I make this without extra sugar, I can always add some at the end if it needs it. When I was making it I was shocked at the amount of sugar and knew that it was too much, but when I make a new recipe for the first time I always follow the recipe.
Other than that, this is a great recipe. One of the reviewers said to add flour to thicken. I did not need to thicken it, in fact I had to add more water towards the end of the cooking time because it was starting to dry out. The ground walnuts were amazing. There are other recipes for this on the web, with the same amount of sugar, but I found another on a Persian website with no sugar at all (except in the Pomegranate Molasses). Looking forward to making it again.

xxxxxyyyyy
- May 22, 2020
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Robert, Scotland

Delicious. After making it with chicken, I’ve later made it with chunky porkbelly strips. It works very well.

xxxxxyyyyy
- April 17, 2020
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Sian

Lovely, however I added 1 tblsp of flour to frying pan. Cooked it until lightly browned and added ground walnuts to the flour, cooking it for 2 minutes. Then added the liquid ingredients. It thickened it beautifully.
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Peggy

Absolutely delicious!

To be honest, it doesn’t look too appetizing. If it weren’t for the pomegranate seeds which add some colors, my husband wouldn’t even want to try it, but glad he did. It was very flavorful and tasty! I made the pomegranate molasses from scratch and it was easy. Love this recipe!

xxxxxyyyyy
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Rachel

Fantastic! I’ve been using this recipe for years. I usually double the sauce without quite doubling the amount of chicken (maybe 1.5 times) because we love it saucy. I find it doesn’t need the full 30 min of simmering before adding the walnuts. If you’re short on time, add the ground walnuts & pom molasses a bit sooner, bc it does need the full hour of simmering after that point. This is a family favorite.

xxxxxyyyyy
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Asha

This was delicious and pretty simple to make! My pomegranate molasses never turned into molasses (I used the recipe on the site) but it still added the sweet and tangy taste to the chicken. My meal did turn dark but stayed a bit more runny that I would have liked it. Next time I make this stew I’ll be sure to make saffron rice on the side.

xxxxxyyyyy
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Paris

Great recipe

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somaye

I will definitely try your recipe. I think most Iranians make it sweet and sour, use a tasteless oil, use less onions and fry the onions until they are golden in color( but yours is more healthy), and as far as I know they don’t roast the walnuts. But I will roast them next time to see the difference.
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Kathryn

Fesenjan is a dish that my mom would make since I was a child. To me this dish reminds me of my childhood. My mother passed away and unfortunately I never learned how she mad it specifically. This is a great recipe but it is a tad sweet. I added more Pomegranate Molasses so that it had more of a tarte flavor to it. Some Persian restaurants make it sweet and some make it tarte so it just depends on your taste buds.

xxxxxyyyyy
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Roger

I am certainly no expert on Persian cuisine, but I made this yesterday and it was superb. Because of the eternal conflict within my family between white meat and dark meat lovers I sectioned a whole chicken into 8 pieces for the recipe and proceeded as printed. At the end of the cooking time the chicken was just about falling off the bone (a good thing) but the sauce wasn’t quite as thick as I thought it should be so I removed the chicken to a plate and reduced the sauce for about 7-8 minutes then returned the chicken to warm through. It was perfect, deep brown colour and all. Will be making this again, often.
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- Elise Bauer
  
  I’m so glad you liked it Roger! Great idea to cook down the sauce further.
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  - lawrie williams
    
    Do you think it could be made all at once in an instant pot pressure cooker
    October 16, 2020
    
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    - Elise Bauer
      
      Hi Lawrie, do you mean after you’ve toasted the walnuts? You can brown the chicken and the onions in the IP. I haven’t tried making this in a pressure cooker, but it might just work. It’s worth a try!
      
      October 16, 2020
      
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