[Sca-cooks] Grenade syrup or molasses

Susan Fox selene at earthlink.net
Thu Mar 28 07:25:04 PDT 2013


This is a nice chicken with pomegranate juice and walnuts.  I hope you 
like purple chicken!  It is a popular contemporary Persian recipe, but I 
have found something very similar in Medieval books, with lamb instead 
of chicken.  I give proportions for a feast and for a family.  Enjoy.


*Fesenjan *

(Chicken with walnuts and pomegranate syrup)

Serves 75 or more probably

25 lb. chicken parts, with skin and bones

2 cups vegetable oil, more if needed

20 onions, sliced thin

1 pint garlic cloves, chopped [the local Asian markets sell garlic in 
pint containers, I think it is something like 12 ounces.  Measure it.]

5 pounds walnuts

8 one-quart bottles pomegranate juice

Salt and pepper to taste

2 small cones piloncillo sugar

2 Tbsp saffron melted in hot water

Pomegranate seeds for garnish, if available  [not in March]

[To Serve Four]

  * 4 chicken breasts with skin and bones
  * 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil, more if needed
  * 2 onions, sliced thin
  * 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  * 150g walnuts
  * 1 one-quart bottles pomegranate juice
  * Salt and pepper to taste
  * 4-6 teaspoons brown sugar
  * ¼ t. saffron melted in hot water

Place chicken pieces in pan, skin side down. Sear quickly until skin is 
dark golden brown. Turn over; lower heat, being careful not to burn. Add 
onions and garlic. When flesh is lightly colored, turn chicken again. 
Remove from pan when it is still underdone, along with most of the 
drippings.

In a small amount of drippings continue sauteing onion and garlic. (If 
you don't want to saute in drippings, use vegetable oil.) Add walnuts; 
cook until they begin to darken and give off a lovely nutty aroma. Add 
pomegranate juice, salt and pepper; stir to combine.

Add sugar to taste and return chicken parts to pan. Simmer gently in the 
sauce until they are medium rare. Take pan off the fire; add saffron. 
Sprinkle pomegranate seeds into sauce, if using, and over chicken. Serve 
with saffron rice, if desired.

Loosely adapted from the Claudia Roden version + NARSUN, from THE 
DESCRIPTION OF FAMILIAR FOODS

About twice as much of the pomegranate sauce as the Roden version 
because I did not think there was enough!



On 3/27/2013 7:32 PM, Ana Valdés wrote:
> I got some nice grenades (it's season here in Uruguay now ), and I want to make some Iranian dish with grenades. But I don't understand the difference between grenade syrup or molasses and I wonder if someone of you have any ideas or recipes where I can use the grenades. I checked at the Florilegium of course :)
> But I didn't find any step to step recipe on how to make the syrup or the molasses.
> Thanks in advance
> Ana




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