Chicken with Pomegranate Sauce
This is a Middle Eastern dish of chicken stewed in a pomegranate and walnut sauce. Serve with white rice.
Ingredients
Serves: 12
- 100ml vegetable oil
- 4 red onions, thinly sliced
- 1 1/4 kg skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 2 cups (500ml) hot water
- 500g chopped walnuts
- 600ml pomegranate juice
- 2 tablespoons freshly ground cardamom
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron powder
- salt to taste
- 1 butternut pumpkin, seeded and diced
Directions
Preparation:20min ›
Cook:3hours ›
Ready in:3hours20min
- Heat the oil in a large heavy frying pan over medium heat. Saute onions until they start to brown. Add chicken pieces and fry until lightly browned on the outside. Pour in the water and bring to the 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 160 degrees C. Combine the walnuts and pomegranate juice in the container of a blender or food processor. Process into a puree. This can be done in small batches if necessary. Add this mixture to the simmering chicken mixture. Season with cardamom, cinnamon, saffron powder and salt. Stir in the cubed pumpkin. Transfer the entire mixture to a 23x33cm baking dish.
- Bake loosely covered for 2 1/2 hours in the preheated oven. Serve with white rice.
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Reviews and Ratings
Global Ratings:
(31)
Reviews in English (24)
Something else. I have to be careful to rate this for what it was and not how it was received. My husband took 2 bites and was done! My grownup daughter loved it and took home half the leftovers! My younger kids poured a bowl of cereal instead. This is not something to make for the picky eater. You really need to love Middle Eastern food. If you do...like I do.. you will love this recipe! I thought it was wonderful. I did have a hard time fitting it all in a 22x33 dish (no way!) I used a larger dishand it still spilled over a bit. I also cooked it much less than the recipe called for and still thought I had cooked it just a few minutes too long. Watch the time carefully. Mine was done with a full half hour to spare and I even cooked it at a little bit lower temp because I was going to be leaving the house. I came home with 30 minutes on the clock and wished I had taken it out about even 10 minutes earlier. I loved the spices. I wouldn't change that as others have said. You will either love it or hate it! If you know what to expect...and are actually looking for this type of recipe...you will rave. - 29 Sep 2008
Something else. Tried this recipe last night and -- overall -- a tasty dish. I’ve had this several times in my favourite NYC Persian restaurant and would like to offer a few suggestions: 1.) In order to balance the potentially overpowering taste of the various spices, include about two tablespoons of lemon juice (or the juice of one lemon) and two or three tablespoons of sugar. This helps balance the flavour and seems more authentic to the dish – I think. 2.) Also, do watch the cooking time. Mine was ready in about 1 hour and 45 minutes. This is pretty close to the authentic way of preparing the dish. It is, however, an acquired taste. - 29 Sep 2008
Used different ingredients. This dish is absolutely divine. I leave out the saffron, because it is there just for the extra colour anyway. I use fresh pomegranates as well--if this dish seems too tart, add a few teaspoons of honey, molasses, or sugar. I also add a teaspoon of cumin and a 1 clove of crushed garlic for more depth. Beautiful, this dish is not, but once people try it, they really love it. If you can't find pomegranates or pomegranate juice, you can substitute prune juice or cranberry juice for a similar effect. - 29 Sep 2008