Fesenjan recipe | one of the traditional Persian food
Fesenjan stew is one of the traditional Iranian dishes. By observing a special series of techniques, you can prepare and enjoy this delicious, and professional food. Fesenjan is one of the original Iranian food that is prepared in most cities of Iran. In accordance with each region, the specific method of that place is served for this food; In some cities, chicken, fish, partridge, turkey and quail meat are used, and in other parts of Iran, especially in the north of the country and the Gilak region, duck and birds are preferred. Some prefer sliced or stir-fried meat.
The ingredients of this delicious and appetizing food include walnuts or pistachios, chicken or red meat and sour or sweet pomegranate paste that is consumed with rice. The originality of Fesenjan or Fesenjoon stew is attributed to Gilan. However, in other cities it is cooked in different ways and there are sour, sweet and smooth flavors (sour and sweet). For example, Fesenjan in Gilan is sour and smooth; In the central regions of Iran, the taste of Fesenjan is often sweetened, and in the region of Azerbaijan, the type of smooth is cooked. In this article of Chiyakotravel, we want to get you familiar with the method of preparing Majlisi Fesenjan.
Everything you need to know about Khoresh Fesenjan:
- How to prepare Fesenjan with chicken
- Tips for preparing Fesenjan with chicken
- Gilan Fesanjan
- History of Fesenjan
- Benefits of Khoresht Fesenjan
- The taste of Khoresht Fesenjan
Fesenjan receipe with chicken
Here are the ingredients of Fesenjan recipe for 4 people.
- 400 grams of walnut kernels
- Three to four tablespoons of pomegranate paste
- A large onion
- Four pieces of chicken
- Salt, black pepper, turmeric and saffron as needed
- Seven stewed plums (optional)
- A small amount of sugar
How to prepare Fesenjan stew with chicken(chicken Fesenjan recepie)
- First, grind the walnut kernels three times.
- Finely grate the onion, preferably white onion. Then fry it with a tablespoon of oil until the onion is not raw anymore and light.
- At this stage, add the minced walnuts to the onion and stir until the walnuts are cooked. Roasting walnuts cause the oil to escape. Do not overcook the walnuts; Because there is a possibility of burning them and making the food bitter.
- Add three to four glasses of cold water to the contents of the pot and increase the heat to boil. During this time, you should stir the stew from time to time and do not close the pot.
- When the stew boils, lower the heat and place the pot door not too tight, because there is a possibility of overflowing
- Stir the stew every 15 to 20 minutes.
- After one to two hours, add the pomegranate paste. The amount of paste depends on your taste, But try to add it little by little to the food so that it does not become too sour.
- Add Bukhara plums to the food.
- Fry the chicken in a separate bowl, then pour a little water over it and let it simmer.
- Then, when the stew is oiled and slightly thickened, add the chicken to the stew to cook well.
- Stir in the stew every 15 minutes to add a little cold water if the water is low.
Tips for preparing Fesenjan with chicken (chicken Fesenjan)
- In order to make walnut return more oil, it is preferable to grind it once you are going to prepare Fesenjan.
- Grind the walnuts two to three times, and if you want to taste a little walnut under the teeth, grind a quarter of a walnut kernel once and grind the rest three times. Grinding the walnut several times helps to have more oil in it.
- Instead of grinding walnuts, you can pour it with onion and a little water in a blender to mix thoroughly. In this way, onions are completely pureed and walnuts are crushed.
- At the end of cooking, if the food has not yet oiled enough, you can add a small piece of ice to the stew every 15 minutes for an hour to melt the oil.
- Be sure to use Persian and oily walnuts. To find out if walnut is oily, you have to press a small piece of it between two fingers; If the oil comes out and lubricates your hand, it is suitable for Fesenjan.
- Although some people use old, black and discolored walnuts for this stew; But try to use the best walnut kernels for Fesenjan to give you the best taste.
- The amount of pomegranate paste depends on how sour and thick it is. While more or less pouring pomegranate paste causes light or dark stew; So in order to have a nice brown stew, you have to pour it in enough.
- To measure the sourness of Fesenjan , add it little by little and after 15 to 30 minutes, taste the food again and add pomegranate paste if necessary. Instead of pouring a lot of water into the stew at first, try to keep your stew low in the water and pour a glass of cold water into the stew every time it needs water and continue to do so until the food fits.
- If you want the Fesenjan to have a sour and sweet taste or so-called smoothies, use sugar or if desired, honey, grape juice or date juice.
- For a better taste and aroma of food, you can brew one to two tablespoons of saffron and add a little cinnamon to the stew at the end of cooking.
- In the last one to two hours of cooking, add chicken or red meat to the food so that the flavors go together.
- In some recipes, walnuts are first smoked in the oven or microwave.
- Sometimes, for a better color of food, a tablespoon of tomato paste is fried in oil and added to Fesenjan stew at the end of cooking.
- Some people also use pistachio powder and a few pieces of dark chocolate.
- One of the most important points of Fesenjan stew is to have patience; In other words, you need to let the food settle slowly over a gentle heat. Fesenjan takes about five to seven hours to cook; However, this depends on the size of the pot and the number of raw materials. In general, the process of preparing this stew is long and this period of time causes the oil to fall off and settle. Since walnuts make enough oil, you do not need to use a lot of oil in preparing Fesenjan stew.
- Due to the fact that pomegranate paste burns quickly, it does not need to be roasted.
- Remember that pomegranate paste should not be added to food in the early stages of work.
Gilan Fesenjan
Gilan people use duck or Khotka (a type of wild chicken) instead of chicken to make Fesenjan. This meat is usually cooked properly and served the same way. In spring and summer, when hunting is not done, people eat turkey or chicken. Pomegranate paste in this region of Iran is made from wild pomegranate or sour pomegranate, and therefore Gilan Fesenjan is sourer and almost black. The people of Gilan prepare and drink Fesenjan stew with the same color and taste, or if they want it to have a smooth taste, they use Qeisi (a kind of plum). Gilaki fesanjan is often cooked in Gamj which is a type of traditional pottery in Gilan.
History of Fesenjan
As we have said, Fesenjan or Fesenjoon has Gilani roots and in addition to duck meat, local spices and vegetables are also used to prepare it. Sometimes they go for Azgil paste instead of pomegranate paste. Unlike the original Iranian stews that have a strong presence in historical sources; Fesenjan belongs to Qajar cooking treatises and its name does not appear in the books of Safavid period. Apparently, this food was so abandoned that people in other parts of Iran did not know it.
There is no exact information about the name of Fesenjan stew and we only know that it was known as “Fusojan” in ancient times and the old cooks considered it as a high-fat (Mosmen) stew. In the book “Iranian Foods” from the Qajar era, it is written about Fesenjan:
The Mosmen which called “Adam” in Tazi, and there are several types of them and I write their names in the names that are now used in Iran. Because these foods were not in the past until the letters were written and it can not be said why this name was given to this stew and we still do not know how and in what way the names of these foods were chosen. So we deserve to read it by the same name and not ask why it is called that.
Benefits of Khoresht Fesenjan
Khoresht Fesenjan is made from walnuts, pomegranate paste and meat which are very nutritious and in addition to being delicious and tasty, it is also a nutritious and high-quality meal.
Walnuts: are a source of vitamins and phosphorus; In addition, it is a hematopoietic and blood purifier and helps treat lung diseases and prevent the formation of gallstones and kidney stones. The presence of omega-3 in walnuts has an effect on improving brain function and therefore it is called brain food. In addition to antioxidants, walnuts contain alpha linolenic acid (a member of the omega-3 family of fatty acids), which protects people against heart attacks. According to scientists, a diet rich in walnuts can reduce the risk of prostate cancer. Sterols of walnut reduce the amount of bad cholesterol in the blood.
Numerous other properties of walnuts include:
- Strengthens hair follicles
- Relief and treatment of gastric reflux
- Effective in the physical development of children
- Help improve and regulate sleep
- Effect on intestinal function
- help relieve constipation
Pomegranate paste: Pomegranate paste, if prepared from high quality pomegranate and according to a hygienic process, has many properties to the body, including fiber, potassium, vitamin C, carbohydrates, manganese, sodium, magnesium, polyphenols, olagic acid. , Folic acid, vitamin A and vitamin B group. Pomegranate paste has a great effect on lowering cholesterol, slimming, increasing energy, easy digestion of food, strengthening the immune system, cancer prevention, blood purification, treatment of high blood pressure
Chicken: Chicken meat has a high nutritional value and helps a lot in treating some diseases. Its vitamin B can prevent anxiety, stress and memory loss syndrome. Protecting the eyes against poor eyesight, enhancing the growth of damaged cells and tissues, strengthening the immune system, oral health, nail health, regulating the hormone cortisol, helping cardiovascular health, etc. are other properties of chicken.
The taste of Khoresht Fesenjan
Khoresht Fesenjan is one of the best Iranian parliamentary dishes for a party. Most Iranians prepare this relatively expensive meal when they have a special guest for whom they want to pay the bill. This food is so delicious and appetizing that few people do not like it; Especially when a layer of walnut oil sits on the stew and the taste of pomegranate paste next to the walnuts creates a miraculous combination that you just want to close your eyes and put a few spoonfuls of this exceptional potion in your mouth and enjoy a healthy and delicious meal with everyone.
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