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Fesenjoon | Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew (khoresh fesenjan خورش فسنجون)

Fesenjoon is a Persian stew made with ground walnuts, onions and pomegranate. Also pronounced, fesenjan, it can be made with chicken or duck, or you can leave the meat out and keep it vegan. Find more of my pomegranate recipes.

A white enamel pan with fesenjoon, a white oval platter with basmati rice, a small bowl with mast o khiar and fresh radishes

If you didn’t know, the fall season is pomegranate season. And if you have been following my blog, then you know that my family are absolute fanatics when it comes to this beautiful fruit.

My kids inhale a bowl of pomegranate seeds every single day when we have it available. And I’m a happy mom because I know they are getting a fantastic dose of fiber, vitamins and antioxidants that is bursting within this bejeweled fruit.

Middle-easterners have always loved their pomegranates. They are used in all aspects of cooking. It has taken some time, but I’m happy to see Westerners enjoying this stunning fruit. Give a kid a bowl of pomegranate seeds and see their faces light up!

Today I am sharing a wonderful savory dish that features, you guess it, pomegranates. And boy is it amazing!

Why you must try this recipe

Khoresh Fesenjan is a very popular Persian stew that stands out amongst all of the stews that come from Iran. Most Persian stews feature a vegetable. Many are tomato based, like Persian eggplant stew (khoresh bademjan) and string bean stew (khoresht loobia sabz).

Other Persian stews are herb based, like our oh-so-delicious herb stew (ghormeh sabzi) and celery stew (khoresh karafs). But fesenjoon is unique, as it is made with crushed walnuts, onions and pomegranate concentrate.

You can serve fesenjoon with just this walnut sauce and keep it vegetarian. But usually, it is served with duck, chicken or even meatballs. Since duck meat is hard to find in the US, I usually use chicken thighs.

The stew is served on a bed of Persian rice. But because of its rich nutty flavor, it is equally delicious with brown basmati rice.

A bowl of Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew (Fesenjan) over brown rice next to half a pomegranate

This is a very hearty stew and can be served for a family meal or even special occasions. With its unique flavor profile, your guests will be wowed over this middle eastern version of a sweet and sour meal.

I learned how to make khoresh fesenjoon from Sholeh, a family friend. Everyone raves that her fesenjoon is the best and so I knew that I had to learn from her. Sholeh’s secret to making the best tasting fesenjan is to brown the ground walnut-onion mixture first. And when I say brown the mixture, I mean cook it slowly until it turns dark brown, like a roux.

Ingredients you need

Ingredients labeled and needed to make fesenjoon

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Step-by-step directions

1. Peel and chop onions into large chunks and place in the bowl of your food processor. Using the blade, pulse until the mixture is smooth.

2. Add walnuts and purée with the onions. Scrape down sides of the bowl and pulse in the food processor until onions and walnuts are completely blended and a thick paste is formed.

3. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet heat over medium-high and add olive oil. When oil is hot, add the chicken. Cook until browned, approximately 3-5 minutes.

Turn chicken over and brown the other side. Transfer chicken to a serving dish and continue browning the remaining chicken.

4. You will have browned bits of chicken on the bottom of the pan. Leave it as you will cook it with the walnut mixture. Add the onion-walnut mixture into the bottom of the pan and spread it evenly over the bottom of the skillet.

5. Cook the mixture on medium-low heat and let the walnut mixture slowly cook and brown. Continue to stir and remix the paste, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.

If the bits are hard to scrape up, add a little water (I’m talking teaspoons) to help it deglaze. Do not burn the mixture. If it is cooking too fast, reduce the heat. Keep cooking the mixture and stirring it until the walnut-onion mixture is deep brown in color and crumbly. This should take about 1 hour.

Remember, that this is done slowly. You do NOT want to burn the walnuts or else it will taste horrible and you will have to throw it away and start again. Also, make sure you use fresh walnuts and not stale walnuts. Stale walnuts have a bitter aftertaste and can ruin your stew.

Most other fesenjan recipes do require this browning step. They simply add the walnut paste directly into the stew with the rest of the ingredients. But I promise you that your fesenjoon will taste 100x better by doing this extra step. 

So be patient, it is so worth the wait. This dish is rich and so full of amazing flavors.

6. Stir the bloomed saffron and pomegranate concentrate into the walnut-onion mixture and continue cooking it. If the sauce needs thinning, drizzle in water as needed.

Different brands of pomegranate concentrate vary in flavor and sweetness. If your pomegranate concentrate is too sour, stir in a little sugar until desired sweetness. If you are using pomegranate molasses, it is already sweetened with sugar, so no additional sugar is needed.

A stainless pan with pomegranate syrup and saffron added to the browned onion-walnut mixture

7. Cut the chicken into strips and add it to the pomegranate sauce. Simmer until the color darkens and the chicken absorbs some of the sauce and flavor, about 20 minutes.

8. The stew can be cooled and refrigerated at this point until ready to serve. Simply reheat in a pot or in the oven until warmed through, adding water if the stew seems dry. Garnish with pomegranate arils, if using, upon serving.

Top view of a white enamel pan with fesenjoon garnished with fresh pomegranate arils in it

Recipe tips and FAQs

Intimidated with pomegranate? Sure, you can buy packages of pomegranate seeds at the store, but it’s really not that hard to seed a pomegranate. Watch the video above or read detailed instructions on how to seed a pomegranate.

If you are lucky to enough have a hoard of pomegranates on hand, I also have a great detailed post on how to juice a pomegranate.

You can use store bought of homemade pomegranate molasses or concentrate. Pomegranate concentrate is just pomegranate juice that has been reduced down by 50%. My friend Beth, at OMG Yummy, has great instructions on how to make pomegranate molasses here.

As I mentioned above, you can also make this dish with bone in chicken thighs or leg quarters. Simply brown the chicken first and let it finish cooking in the sauce until no longer pink inside.

My family are hearty eaters and like more meat in their stews. You can use less than what I have listed in the recipe card below, if you want more sauce than meat. Remember, the sauce is rich and made with protein rich walnuts.

I like to serve this stew over Persian rice, white basmati rice steamed and topped with saffron. It is also delicious with brown basmati rice. I also like to serve it with mast o khiar (yogurt with cucumbers) and fresh herbs (sabzi khordan). You can also serve it with Shirazi salad (cucumber tomato salad).

A single serving of white basmati rice topped with fesenjoon, a small bowl with mast o khiar and fresh radishes
Can I freeze fesenjoon?

Fesenjoon is terrific example of a Persian stew that freezes very well. You can make a large batch and freeze it until you are ready to serve it. This helps with any party planning you might need to do in order to work ahead of a big dinner party. Persian stews taste even better the longer it sits. So even cooking fesenjan a few days before you plan on serving it means that your stew will taste even better.

What is the difference between pomegranate concentrate, syrup and molasses?

Some people use these words interchangeably, but there is a big difference between pomegranate concentrate, pomegranate syrup and pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate concentrate is basically pomegranate juice that has been reduced to a thick, syrup-like consistency, about 50% reduction in volume. There is no sugar added to pomegranate concentrate. Pomegranate syrup is pomegranate juice mixed in with sugar and then slowly reduced down into a syrup consistency. Pomegranate molasses is pomegranate syrup that has been reduced and thickened even more.

pomegranate ecookbook cover and table of contents

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Yield: serves 6-8

Fesenjoon | Persian Pomegranate and Walnut Stew (khoresh fesenjan خورش فسنجون)

A single serving of white basmati rice topped with fesenjoon, a small bowl with mast o khiar and fresh radishes

Fesenjoon is a Persian stew made with ground walnuts and pomegranates. It can be made with chicken or duck, or you can leave the meat out and keep it vegan.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion (about 1-pound), peeled and quartered
  • 8 oz walnuts (about 2 cups)
  • 2lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon ground saffron steeped in 1 TBS hot water
  • 2 cup pomegranate molasses
  • ¼ cup water (if needed)
  • 2 TBS granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup pomegranate arils

Instructions

  1. Purée onions until smooth in a food processor.
  2. Add in walnuts and purée with the onions. Scrape down sides of the bowl and pulse in the food processor until onions and walnuts are completely blended and a thick paste is formed.
  3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.
  4. In a large skillet over medium-high heat add olive oil. When oil is hot, add chicken and cook until browned, approximately 3-5 minutes.
  5. Turn chicken thighs over and brown the other side. Transfer chicken to a serving dish and reserve.
  6. Transfer the walnut-onion mixture to the hot pan and smooth it evenly onto the bottom of the skillet.
  7. Heat mixture over medium-low. When it starts to brown, stir and remix the paste and smooth it again evenly on to the bottom of the skillet.
  8. Reduce heat to low and repeat step 5 every 10-15 minutes. Cook until walnut-onion mixture is deep brown in color and crumbly, about 1 hour..
  9. Stir saffron and pomegranate concentrate into walnut-onion mixture.
  10. Cut chicken thighs into strips and add to the pomegranate mixture. Cover and simmer until color darkens, about 20 minutes.
  11. If sauce needs thinning, drizzle in water as needed.
  12. Different brands of pomegranate concentrate vary in flavor and sweetness. If your pomegranate concentrate is too sour, stir in a little sugar until desired sweetness. If you are using pomegranate molasses, it is already sweetened with sugar, so no additional sugar is needed.
  13. Transfer stew into serving dish and garnish with pomegranate arils.

Notes

Serving Suggestions: Serve with basmati rice.

Cooking Tips: You can also shred the chicken and then add it to stew. This is a very rich and filling dish that your guests will love! For a vegetarian version, do not add chicken.

You can also make this dish with bone in chicken thighs or leg quarters. Simply brown the chicken first and let it finish cooking in the sauce until no longer pink inside.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1 ½ cups

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 642Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 24gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 371mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 3gSugar: 62gProtein: 33g

PS If you try this recipe, why not leave a star rating in the recipe card right below and/or a review in the comment section further down the page? I always appreciate your feedback.

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This post was first published in 2012. It has been updated with more information and new photographs.

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