Asian Recipe ⟶ Khoresht Fesenjaan (Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce)

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

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

Cooking Directions

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (65 degrees C).
4. 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.
5. Bake, loosely covered, for 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Serve with white rice.

Nutrition Facts

• calories742.5
• carbohydrateContent48.9 g
• cholesterolContent85.1 mg
• fatContent51.8 g
• fiberContent6.2 g
• proteinContent28.6 g
• saturatedFatContent8.8 g
• sodiumContent281.1 mg
• sugarContent28.8 g