A few years ago, I had a meal at a Middle Eastern restaurant and I fell in love. Shortly thereafter, the restaurant closed- of course.
After searching the net for a recipe, I gave up and decided to just make my own from what I remember of the dish. The owner told me that it was made with pomegranate and walnuts and that it simmered for 24 hours! My recipe is lacking something, but if I decide to make it again, I'll have to figure it out. Here's what I tried...
Pull the seeds from one or two pomegranates and place them in a large, deep pot on the stove. (In the future, I will use Pom juice instead of seeds.) Ground up some walnuts (maybe 1 to 2 cups) and add them to the pot. Cover with water and add a dash of sea salt. Bring to boil and then simmer for 2 hours. Add chicken (I used strips), some sugar and saffron. Bring to boil again, then simmer for another 2-4 hours.
Remove chicken and be sure to remove all nuts and seeds from chicken (VERY important). Take the liquid part (which will have the nuts and seeds) and in small portions, liquefy them in a high speed blender. If you don't liquefy them, you'll have seeds getting stuck in your mouth during your meal. Return liquid and chicken to pot and simmer for 5 minutes.
I served this over rice and while it was good, it was rather bland. I think I might add some tart cheese, such as feta or even gargonzola next time. I may also investigate some Middle Eastern spices as an option.
