The menu boasts local favorites such as Hummus and Kababs, but for the discerning palate traditional dishes such as Khorake Bademjan (lamb shank & eggplant in a tomato and sour grape sauce) and the Fesenjan (chicken tenderloins in a rich pomegranate sauce with ground walnuts and saffron) excite the senses into a food-gasm. Vibrant colors of the herbs and spices, savory sauces, and fruitful garnishes lure the eyes and stomach. Such spices as fenugreek and cardamom practically lift off the plates, floating up to the nose and encompassing the entire body. The mixture of textures with the mounds of basmati rice topped with saffron, cranberries and pistachios, the sauces that could almost be a meal in themselves- filled with nuts and berries, fresh flat bread made on site, hot tea and a creamy yogurt drink are enough to send the body into sensory overload.
The Fesenjan was my pick for my first experience at Kasra, and it was love at first bite. I sat at my table, taking in the sights, the sounds, and the aromas of tables near-by; with a pen in one hand and a fork in the other, I scribbled on the paper napkins my critique of this dish. Is this meal what I would expect to find if I were to travel to Iran? Could I recreate this? Could I or would I expand on this?
I was certainly up for the challenge of recreating with a little help from Phoenicia Specialty Foods store.
Here is the recipe I found from a Persian Cookbook by Nesta Ramazani. I had the recipe verified by one of my Iranian friends and I was good to go.
Khoresht e Fesenjan:
Ingredients:
2 large onions, chopped or sliced
5 Tbsp butter
1 large chicken fabricated- skinless and boneless
12 oz consommé or chicken stock
1 cup water
2 1/2 cups finely ground walnuts
4-5 Tbsp pomegranate syrup (substitute sour cranberry juice)
2-3 Tbsp sugar
2-3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp saffron (or turmeric)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp lemon juice
Procedure:
1. Sauté the onions in 2 Tbsp of the butter until translucent. Remove
from the pan and set aside.
2. Add 3 more Tbsp of butter and sauté the chicken pieces
until light brown.
3. Add consommé or stock and sautéed onions. Cover and
simmer gently for 30 minutes.
4. Prepare the sauce by stirring the water into the ground walnuts. Stir
in the pomegranate syrup and sugar, and simmer gently over a low heat
for 10-15 minutes.
5. Combine the cooked chicken and most of its drippings with the
walnut sauce; add the seasonings and the lemon juice; cover and simmer
gently for another hour.
6. Adjust the seasonings by adding a little
sugar if too sour, or more pomegranate syrup if too sweet. The chicken
pieces should be coated with a rich, dark, sweet-sour sauce; there
should be plenty of thick sauce. Serve with basmati rice.
The dish was very simple to make and took no more than 2 hours from start to finish. I found that with this recipe, there was not much tweaking that needed to be made. I did put both pomegranate and sour cranberry juice into the sauce. And of course, I added more pepper to the mix but with a twist… pink peppercorns! The pink peppercorns are actually berries reminiscent of pepper but with a delicate, fragrant, sweet & spicy flavor; and carrying a mild hint of citrus zest taste.
Making the basmati rice offered more effort than the main dish itself. Rice is without a doubt the most important element of the Persian meal. After washing the rice, and letting soak for about an hour. I simmered the rice in chicken stock, butter, lime juice and herbs til almost all of the liquid was absorbed. Then set aside. The hardest part was not peeking, but the results were fabulously fluffy and separated grains. In a sauté pan, I combined roasted pistachios with sweet, dried cranberries and orange zest and about an oz of sour cranberry juice until the ingredients were married well together. The cranberry mix was served over the rice on a separate plate than the Fesenjan chicken.
I found so many recipes online for this meal. Each the same, but different in it's own way. But either way you go, this is one to keep.
