Here are a few facts about Iran:

• Capitals: Tehran
• Population: about 79 million
• Area: 1 648 195 km²
• Currency: Rial

For the Iranian meal I made fesenjan. Fensenjan is a chicken stew with pomegranate and walnut. As a side I made saffron rice pilaf. The taste of the fesenjan was very interesting as it is more sweet than salty but it goes really well with the saffron rice.

Fesenjan

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1/2 pound walnut halves
• 1.5 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Salt

Directions:

First prepare all the ingredients, cut the chicken thighs in 2 inch pieces, measure all the spices, chop the onion, measure the broth and the chicken stock.

In a large pan with no oil, roast the walnuts stirring often until they are slightly toasted. Set them aside and let them cool.

In a heavy bottom large pan (I used a dutch oven), heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and one tablespoon of butter. Pat the chicken dry, salt it and brown it in the pan. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

In the same pan, cook the onions until translucent.

Put the chicken back in the pan and add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to slowly simmer, cover and let cook 30 minutes.

Put the walnuts in a food processor and blend until finely ground.

After 30 minutes, add the pomegranate molasses, the spices, the walnuts and the sugar, stir well. Reduce the heat to low and cover. Simmer for 1 hour stirring every 20 minutes to ensure the bottom doesn’t burn.

You can serve it with saffron rice (recipe below)

Saffron rice

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon of saffron
• 2 tablespoons of ghee
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 2 1/2 cups long grain white rice
• 2 teaspoons salt
• Zest of an orange
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds

Directions:

Measure all the ingredients and zest the orange.

Boil 4 cups of water. Take 2 tablespoons of the boiling water, mix with the saffron in a bowl and set aside.

In a 2 quart saucepan, heat the ghee and all the spices except the orange zest. Fry the spices in the ghee for about 3 minutes.

Add the rice and fry the rice with the spices for an additional 3 minutes. It’s ok to get some of the rice slightly browned.

Add the salt to the hot water, remove pan from heat and pour the hot water on top. Be careful as the rice is hot and the water might splatter. Add the saffron with it’s water and the orange zests. Stir once and return to heat.

Cover and simmer on the lowest heat for about 15-20 minutes depending on the cooking time of your rice.

In the meantime, grill the almonds in a small pan and add on top when the rice is cooked. You can also add 2 tablespoons of pistachios and 2 tablespoons of raisins.

Once the rice is cooked, remove all the spices that have floated on top and add the almonds. Stir well and serve.

befarma’id !