About this Dish
A rich, complex stew of chicken or duck slow-cooked in a sauce of ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses — sweet, sour and deeply nutty. One of the jewels of Persian cuisine, associated with the northern Caspian region. The colour is a deep mahogany and the flavour unlike anything else in the world.
IngredientsServes 4
🍗Bone-in chicken thighs, 6 pieces (about 1.2kg)
🌰Walnuts, 300g
🍷Pomegranate molasses, 5 tablespoons
🧅Large onion, 1, finely diced
🍎Pomegranate juice or water, 250ml
🍯Sugar or honey, 1–2 tablespoons (to taste)
🧄Turmeric, 1 teaspoon
🫙Cinnamon, half teaspoon
🫒Vegetable or sunflower oil, 2 tablespoons
🧂Salt and black pepper, to season
Method
1
Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 5–6 minutes until fragrant, then leave to cool completely. Blitz them in a food processor until they reach a fine, almost flour-like texture — the finer the better for a silky sauce.2
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and turmeric, then brown them on all sides until golden. Remove the chicken and set aside.3
In the same pot, fry the diced onion until soft and lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Add the cinnamon and stir for another minute.4
Add the ground walnuts to the pot and stir them into the onions. Pour in the pomegranate juice, pomegranate molasses and enough water to just cover (about 250–300ml more). Stir well — the sauce will look thin at first but will thicken as it cooks.5
Return the chicken to the pot, nestling it into the walnut sauce. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low, cover with a lid and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the walnuts from sticking to the bottom.6
After 45 minutes, taste the sauce and balance it — Fesenjan should be deeply savoury with a sweet-sour edge. Add sugar or honey if too sharp, or a splash more molasses if you want more tartness. Continue cooking uncovered for a further 15–20 minutes until the sauce is thick, glossy and a deep mahogany colour.7
Serve over steamed saffron rice (chelow), garnished with a handful of pomegranate seeds if available. The stew tastes even better the next day once the flavours have deepened overnight.User Reviews
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