Need Persian Fesenjan Recipe
My SO always talks about fesenjan and how it is his favorite dish. I would like to make it. Does anyone have a recipe? The SO has no clue about how to prepare the dish. I have searched the internet and found many recipes, but they all seem to have slightly different ingredients. I need a tested recipe that will meet the expectations of the SO's Persian tastebuds. Thanks!
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Greetings,
I see your question is a little old by now, but I'll respond anyway. The first thing you should do is get a hold of a copy of "New Food of Life: Ancient Persian and Modern Iranian Cooking and Ceremonies" or "A Taste of Persia," both by Najmieh Batmanglij. I make fesenjan, along with many other Persian classics, out of these books all the time. The recipes are superb every time. You and your SO will be very happy you got the books. I will be making fesenjan tonight, in fact.
HM
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I've never made this but I've tasted it and it's delish.
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rose water
Feb 18, 2007 11:27 AM
That's funny! I just had some leftover fessenjoon for lunch. It is such a luxurious dish--creamy, tangy, heavenly.
My version is a veggie adaptation. Chicken is more traditional, but I've never made it with chicken, so I can't help there. The other caveat to the instructions below is that carrots are not necessary or always included, but are a nice foil to the intense richness of all those walnuts. Oh, and another caveat: this recipe is for a huge vat of fessenjoon. Feel free to cut it down considerably. Or make it all and freeze--it freezes very well. Times are flexible, but you want to give it all the chance to blend simmer and meld slowly.
2 medium-large onions sliced
1 ½ lb ground walnuts
turmeric
s+p
1 lb tofu (cubed, fried)
½ bottle pomegranate molasses
½ tsp cinnamon
Salt, pepper, sugar
1 cube veggie bullion
Dried sour plums
1 lb ground carrotsFry onions until soft.
Add turmeric (enough to make the onions nice and yellow), ground walnuts, water (enough to approximate the consistency; i eyeball this), veggie bullion, cinnamon, carrot, s+p
Simmer gently 1-2 hours (it will look like beige mush. never fear)
Add ½ bottle pomegranate molasses, more to taste
Simmer ½ hour
Add sugar to taste (about 2 tbsp), add tofu, dried plums (iranian ones, sweet/sour and amazing)
Simmer ½ hour, stirring regularly (once the sugar/molasses are in) to prevent stickingYou okay making Iranian rice?
