Khoresht Fesenjan Recipe (Persian Walnut Stew)

Fesenjan or Persian walnut stew is a hearty dish made with ground walnuts, chicken, or meatballs simmered with sweet and sour pomegranate paste. If you enjoy sweet and sour flavor combinations, then this walnut and pomegranate stew recipe is for you.

What Is Khoresht e Fesenjan?

When you talk about Persian foods, there are a few dishes that always pop into your mind. Certainly, Kabab Koobideh, Ghormeh Sabzi, and Khoresht Gheimeh are at the top of this list. But if you’re interested in exploring Iranian cuisine, you definitely shouldn’t miss out on Khoresht Fesenjan.

The origin of this stew goes back to the Gilan region in the north of Iran. In the Fesenjan stew recipe, chicken (sometimes tiny meatballs) is cooked with ground walnuts and pomegranate paste. Pomegranate paste will give a sweet and sour flavor to the stew. You can adjust the amount of sweetness or sourness of this stew by adding a little sugar or pomegranate juice according to your taste.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Easy to make: You don’t need to have a lot of experience in Persian cuisine to cook a delicious Khoresh Fesenjan. By following the recipe step by step, you will definitely get amazing results and surprise everyone at the dinner table.
• Uses pantry ingredients: This stew is one of our favorite family meals! An easy stew made with basic pantry ingredients. Packed with nutrients with a straightforward recipe.
• Delicious: Tender chicken pieces, covered in walnut and pomegranate paste sauce, topped with pomegranate seeds, and paired with steamed saffron rice! This recipe is packed with delicious sour and sweet flavors and is a family favorite.

Fesenjan Ingredients

• Walnuts: Ground walnut kernels are used to cook this stew. Put the walnuts in a food processor and grind them down to crumbs.
• Pomegranate Paste: Pomegranate paste is used to cook many Iranian dishes such as sour chicken, kebab, and Fesenjan. Pomegranate paste, also known as pomegranate molasses, is a thick syrup made from pomegranate juice. The taste of this walnut stew depends on whether the pomegranate paste is sour or sweet.
• Onion: Use yellow or white onions for this recipe. Onions should be finely chopped or grated.
• Chicken: Walnut stew can be cooked with chicken or meatballs.
• Sugar: This stew has a slightly sour and sweet taste and it depends on the taste of the pomegranate paste that you use for cooking. If you want the stew to taste sweeter, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar.
• Spices: The combination of spices used to cook this stew is salt, turmeric, and black pepper.

How to Make Fesenjan Stew

• Pulse Walnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
• Add finely chopped or grated onion into a pot and stir-fry with a little oil for a couple of minutes until soft and golden.
• Add walnuts and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted.
• Add 7 cups cold water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer. After an hour, the color of the walnut mixture starts to darken. Let the walnuts cook on low heat for about two hours.
• Then add pomegranate paste. Remember that you should not add a large amount of pomegranate paste to the stew at once because the stew may become too sour.
• After adding the pomegranate paste, let it simmer on low for 1 hour.
• Season chicken pieces with salt, black pepper, and turmeric. Then fry them in hot oil until golden.
• Add chicken pieces, salt, and bloomed saffron to the stew. At this point, you can add one or two spoons of sugar to the stew, of course, if you like Fesanjan stew to be a little sweet.
• Cover and let the stew cook for an additional 45-60 minutes or until reduced and thickened slightly.
• Serve Fesenjoon stew with saffron rice.

Expert Tips

• Fasanjan stew should be cooked with low heat because the cooking time is relatively long.
• You can use chicken thighs or breasts for this recipe, it’s completely up to you.
• Adding pomegranate paste and sugar makes the color of the stew darker.
• This stew has a sour and sweet taste and it depends on the taste of the pomegranate paste that is used for cooking. If you want the stew to taste sweeter, you can add 1 to 2 tablespoons of sugar. If you prefer a sour taste, ignore adding sugar.
• Adding bloomed saffron gives a good flavor and aroma to the Fesenjoon stew.
• The walnuts themselves release enough oil when heated, so be careful not to use too much oil for frying chopped onions and chicken pieces.

Variations 

Vegan Fesenjan: You can cook this stew with tofu meatballs. Prepare the meatballs with any combination you like, fry them with a little oil, and then add them to the stew.

Fesenjan stew with meatballs: Meatballs made with a mix of pepper, salt, onion, and ground beef. Super easy to come together and tastes incredible! In a bowl, mix the grated onion, minced meat, salt, and pepper. Then make small meatballs. Saute meatballs for about 10 to 15 minutes until nicely browned then add them to the stew.

FAQs

How Long Does It Take To Cook Fesenjoon?

The cooking time of Persian walnut stew is relatively long (about 4-5 hours), but the result deserves it.

Can you cook Fesenjan with other nuts?

Walnuts are the base of this delicious Fesenjan stew. In some recipes, walnuts are replaced with almonds. If you like to use almonds, cook this stew with one-third of almonds and two-thirds of walnuts. De-skin almonds and place them in the mixer to thoroughly crumble before adding them to the stew.

What to Serve with Fesenjoon?

You can serve Fesenjoon stew with a bowl of salad Shirazi, Sabzi Khordan(fresh herb platter), or a bowl of plain yogurt mixed with mint.

What Is Fesenjoon Made Of?

Persian walnut stew is a hearty dish made with ground walnuts, chicken, or meatballs simmered with sweet and sour pomegranate paste.

How Long Do Leftovers Last?

Leftover Khoresht Fesenjan will keep well in the fridge for 2-3 days and can be reheated on the stovetop.

Did you like the Fesenjan stew recipe? Leave your comment below and If you make this recipe, be sure to tag your photos #yummynotes 

Looking for More Persian Recipes?

• Kookoo Sabzi Recipe
• Khoresht Karafs Recipe
• Tahchin Recipe 
• Albaloo Polo Recipe
• Baghali Polo Recipe
• Mirza Ghasemi Recipe

Khoresht Fesejan Recipe

Serves: 3 Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 4 Hours 4 Hours

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.8/5

( 23 voted )

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Ingredients

• 4 chicken pieces
• 250g walnuts, finely ground
• 1 medium-sized onion, grated or finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate paste, plus more if needed
• 1 tablespoon sugar, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/8 teaspoon crushed saffron threads dissolved in 2-3 tablespoons hot water
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Vegetable Oil
• Water

Instructions

Step 1

Pulse Walnuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.

Step 2

Add finely chopped or grated onion into a pot and stir-fry with a little oil for a couple of minutes until soft and golden.

Step 3

Add walnuts and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until lightly toasted.

Step 4

Add 7 cups cold water, cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer. After an hour, the color of the walnut mixture starts to darken. Let the walnuts cook on low heat for about two hours.

Step 5

Then add pomegranate paste. Remember that you should not add a large amount of pomegranate paste to the stew at once because the stew may become too sour.

Step 6

After adding the pomegranate paste, let it simmer on low for 1 hour.

Step 7

Season chicken pieces with salt, black pepper, and turmeric. Then fry them in hot oil until golden.

Step 8

Add chicken pieces, salt, and bloomed saffron to the stew. At this point, you can add one or two spoons of sugar to the stew, of course, if you like Fesanjan stew to be a little sweet.

Step 9

Cover and let the stew cook for an additional 45-60 minutes or until reduced and thickened slightly. Serve Fesenjoon stew with saffron rice.