
Fesenjan is a beloved Iranian pomegranate-walnut stew. It can be made with chicken, duck, or without meat. What you see above is a version made with mushrooms and chickpeas, a departure from the classic recipe. Note my greenery "garnish" isn't really edible 😉 This is my fast, 15 minute version of khorest fesenjan.
Yes, you read right. A 15-minute version of beloved Persian koresht fesenjan.
What??????
For the uninitiated, it’s a stew of ground walnuts, pomegrante molasses, and, often, chicken. It has a sweet and sour flavor that might sound weird on paper, but tastes oh-so-good on the palate. It also has a bit of a reputation: a rep as something that takes a good while to cook.
We chatted about this recipe on here before:
- The classic, stovetop slow cooking version is here.
But today’s offering is a quickie take on the slow-cooking classic. Over the weekend, a reader, Almaz, and I were chatting on Facebook. She loves the blog and had such kind words of encouragement for me. I was really touched. So I asked her if there was anything in particular she’d like me to post about. She jokingly (I think), said “15 minute fesenjan.” I immediately thought about a slow cooker version, that potentially could have only 15 minutes of hands on time.
Then today, while tinkering around in the kitchen, I realized a truly fast fesenjan, made in 15 minutes from start to finish, IS doable. If you have the following, already ready:
- Pomegranate PASTE or MOLASSES (pre-thickened, you see!)
- Ground walnuts.
- Pre-cooked chicken (if using).
- Pre-cooked rice (if serving over rice). Or you could use quick cooking rice. (Not as tasty as homemade, but just sayin’)
So here we go. Don’t blink, guys, or else this recipe will be over before you know it:
15-Minute Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)
Time: 15 minutes
Yield: Approximately 4-6 servings. ( The nuts make this a very rich dish.)
Ingredients
- Neutral cooking fat of choice (butter, grapeseed oil, etc)
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 cup pre-ground walnuts
- 1 Tablespoon sumac
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 cup pomegranate molasses or pomegranate paste (can find on Amazon)
- 10 ounces of mushrooms (optional)
- 1 cup of chicken broth, vegetable broth, or water
- 1 14-16 ounce can of chickpeas, rinsed (optional)
- 1 cup of pre-cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (such as leftover roasted chicken)
- Honey, sugar, or agave nectar to taste
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
1. Over a low heat, heat oil or butter in a Dutch oven.
2. As fat warms, dice onion. Add it to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring periodically. (Chopping the onion very small will help it cook through faster).
3. As the onion cooks, slice mushrooms (if using) and drain and rinse chickpeas (if using).
4. Lower the heat, and add walnuts to the onions. Toast walnuts lightly, turning often, for 30-60 seconds, or until you smell a hint of fragrance. Immediately add in spices, and cook for about 30 seconds more. Turn heat off.
5. Add in the pomegranate molasses/paste, stock or water. Stir well, then add in any of the following that you’re using: chicken, mushrooms, chickpeas. Put the heat back on, then increase heat to high until stew boils. Drop the heat down to low.
6. Cook for 5 minutes more, until mushrooms are cooked through and chicken, if using, is warmed through. (You can cook this dish longer if you wish, up to half an hour, but the shorter cooking time works if you’re in a hurry).
7. Adjust seasonings to your taste. If you want it sweeter, add in sweetener of choice, stir, taste. Repeat until you’ve reached your idea sweet-sour ratio. Serve over rice of choice and enjoy.
That’s IT!
Enjoy it over rice of your choice.
THANK You SO MUCH I am trying this and sending it to EVERYONE one I know No I was not joking and thank you again
COOOL! Let me know how it turns out, dear 🙂
Une assiette bien parfumée et réconfortante
Je te souhaite un bon mardi ensoleillé, il l’est dans ma Franche-Comté.
Bise, Valéri€.
Merci, cheri!
I had been yearning for a dish with pomegrante molasses and walnuts lately; love your speedy version of fesenjan!
Thanks, Joumana. Have a fabulous weekend.
I remember your other fesenjan dish and it was lovely. wow, 15 minutes, Bria-nice shortcut with the roast chicken!
Yeah, roast chicken is a life-saver when time-pressed. Have a great weeked, dear.
Oh Bria I tried it this past weekened for a family Dinner and everyone was In LOVE with this dish I did it Just like it was and doubled the recipe it was great I sat it out like a Monglian soup type way. Meaning I made a huge batch of your recipe all the vegans loved it cause I made it with vegatable Broth but I had set on separte plates of roast chicken, and duck. Even some friend Tofu. (Yeah I know but actually it was good.) That was for my HARD core Vegan people So everyone was able to take what they wanted.
now it seems like this is all that they want all the time everyone really loved it so I made a bigger batch divided up and froze them in double bagged zip lock bags in single serving sizes. So when people want some they would just get some out but it in boliing water or pop it in the microwave and blam Fasenjan on tap
Can you do the same with Lamb and Apricots
Just asking thank cause this is getting good.
Wow, sounds like you take such amazing care of your friends and family. They are blessed to have you.
I’m thrilled that the fesenjan technique works so well, and is so flexible for everyone (vegans, meat-eaters, etc.)
Regarding the lamb: Do you mean a 15-minute version of lamb and apricots? Probably doable. . .if the lamb is already pre-cooked from another dish. Let me investigate and get back to you.
Or if you’re referring to freezing and re-heating the dish as you described in your comment, I don’t see why not, actually.
This was phenomenal! Though Fesenjan is a brand new dish to me, I was completely intrigued by one look at the spice-and-flavor combination in the recipe … It reminded me of some Indian dishes I love, but looked like nothing I’d eaten before. The finished product blew my mind! I made it with seitan this weekend. A new wintry favorite for sure — thanks for sharing.
Mythili, I am beyond thrilled that you fell in love with this recipe. Seitan is a great addition 🙂 So happy you enjoyed it so much!
[…] that Persian food must always be a daylong undertaking. Anyone who has tried my rapid and delicious 15 Minute Khorest Fesenjan, full of pomegranate and walnut flavor, knows […]
Very cool. I never had the veggie version. I love mushrooms and will try it. I always use this recipe but w/o any meat: http://www.persiancity.com/recipes/recipe.asp?ID=70&Khoresht%20Fesenjaan
They have other recipes which are pretty good. Cheers!
Cool, thanks.
this is an excellent recipe. I added a few twists…I added a lil butter w/ olive oil when sauteeing the onions. I also added chopped garlic; I sauteed the onion and garlic longer to get it a bit more caramelized and softer.
Spiece: I added a bit of crushed cardamom, and bit of red chilli pepper to give it kick, and in the part where you add the stock, I added some saffron water, water, and pom juice.
Thanks again!
You’re welcome Laviza; glad it turned out well for you, and I love your modifications. 🙂