• About
  • Recipe Index
  • Ingredients
  • Food Gallery
  • Resources

Mastering Persian Cooking

~ Persian Food Recipes

Mastering Persian Cooking

Category Archives: Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan

12 Monday Dec 2016

Posted by Mastering Persian Cooking in Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Gluten free, Persian vegetarian, pomegrante and walnut stew, vegan, vegan and vegetarian khoresht

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)

This Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan with its creamy and thick sweet and sour sauce makes a great and satisfying meatless dinner and it’s an easy, no-fuss Persian khoresht you can make right at home. This stew can be made with meatballs, duck, turkey or chicken.  For the chicken version, check the fesenjan recipe I posted few years ago. If you serve this dish to those who have never tried it before, make sure they are not allergic to nuts.

I’ve made this vegetarian khoresth fesenjan with tofu twice so far and once without any meat alternative. Personally, I prefer it without any meat alternative, but feel free to add the protein of your choice.

Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (4)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (6)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (7)

As with all Persian stews, you start the dish by heating the oil first. You then fry the onions until slightly golden and add your spices. Some add cinnamon or Persian advieh, but I keep mine simple.

Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (2)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (3)

To save time in the kitchen, always multitask. While your onion is frying, toast the walnuts and process in the food processor until finely ground. The finer the ground walnut is, the smoother and creamier your sauce would be. I turn mine into an almost paste consistency. You can add a little water to process it easier. If you prefer a little texture in your stew, leave the walnuts finely ground. You can always buy ready to serve fresh pomegranate arils for added texture and color, when in season of course. 

Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (8)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (9)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (5)

The last step of the recipe is to add in your walnuts, pomegranate molasses and water and cook the stew until it comes together. I used two different brands of pomegranate molasses, half of each. The Indo-European brand had less sugar and was more sour than the Mid-East brand. If sugar is listed first on the ingredient list, chances are the molasses is real sweet and you may need to add lemon juice. On the other hand, if sugar is listed as the second or third ingredients, you may end up adding more sugar unless you like your stew on the sour side. 

Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (11)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (12)

As the stew cooks, liquid reduces in volume and the sauce starts to thicken and darken in color. The flavors also intensify and this is the time you want to give your sauce a taste and adjust the seasoning or flavors.  The way to adjust the flavors is to add about 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar if the sauce tastes too sour, then stir to blend the flavors. Let it simmer for few minutes before adding more. Conversely, if the sauce tastes too sweet, adjust the balance by adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Again, simmer for few minutes and taste before adding more. The thickness of the sauce can also be easily adjusted by simply adding more water to thin it or simmering it uncovered to thicken it.

In making any Persian khoresht, you often hear the saying “it has to come together” and what that means is the oil has to separate to the top, just as you see in the photos above. That’s a sure sign that it’s ready. I always skim off the excess fat and leave enough for flavoring.

Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (10)
Mastering Persian Cooking Vegetarian Fesenjan (13)

If you’re using tofu, you can add it toward the last 20 minutes of cooking. For a complete instruction on preparing tofu, refer to my vegetarian khoresht kadoo recipe. I just drained and used the tofu in this stew, but I think the chewy texture of fried tofu works better with Persian stews.

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)

Always taste and adjust the seasoning before your serve your dish :).

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)

Serve over fragrant basmati polo, YUM! 

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate Walnut Stew)

Pomegranate arils add a dash of color, texture and flavor to your dish.

Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan (Pomegranate and Walnut Stew)

Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 hour 20 min
Ready in: 1 hour 35 min
Yields: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

1½ cups walnuts
2 tablespoons regular olive oil
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon turmeric
1¾ cups water
¾ cup pomegranate concentrate/ molasses
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
¼ teaspoon saffron (optional)
½ cup pomegranate arils
One 14 oz. package extra firm tofu (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oil in a small pot. Add chopped onions and fry over medium-high heat for about 15 or until slightly golden.

In the meantime, toast the walnuts in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes or until fragrant. Stir frequently to prevent walnuts from burning.

Add the toasted walnuts to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process until the walnuts are finely ground. If the walnuts stick to the sides of the bowl, stop the food processor to scrape down the sides.

When the onion is ready, stir in the salt, pepper and turmeric. Cook for a minute or so then add ground walnuts, saffron, pomegranate molasses and 1¾ cups of water. Cover and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 1 hour or until the oil separates to the top. As the sauce thickens, the walnuts settle to the bottom of the pot, so gently stir the bottom of the pot a few times toward the last 30 minutes to prevent walnuts from burning.

Pomegranate molasses can be very sweet, very sour or in-between depending on the brand used. Taste the sauce before using it and balance the sweetness and tartness according to your preference. The way to adjust the flavors is to add about 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar if the sauce tastes too sour, then stir to blend the flavors. Let it simmer for few minutes before adding more. Conversely, if the sauce tastes too sweet, adjust the balance by adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Again, simmer for few minutes and taste before adding more. The thickness of the sauce can also be easily adjusted by simply adding more water to thin it or simmering it uncovered to thicken it.

If using tofu, add toward the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Skim the excess walnut oil from the surface of the sauce before serving the dish. Serve over fragrant basmati polo.

 

 

Share this:

  • Pinterest
  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • More
  • Pocket
  • Reddit
  • Tumblr
  • LinkedIn

Search recipes…

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Ingredients
  • Food Gallery
  • Resources

Recipes

  • Appetizer/Side dish
    • Cucumber and Tomato Salad
    • Eggs Over Fried Tomatoes
    • Feta Cheese Tomato and Cucumber Appetizer
    • Kashk Bademjan
    • Marinated Shrimp
    • Nargesi Esfenaj
    • Salad Olivieh
    • Yogurt and Cucumber Dip
    • Yogurt and Spinach Dip
    • Yogurt Salad with Dill and Walnuts
  • Ash/Soup/Khorak/Abgoosht
    • Abgoosht
    • Abgoosht Bozbash
    • Ash Aloo Esfenaj
    • Ash Jo
    • Ash Mash
    • Ash Reshteh
      • Ash Reshteh – Simplified Version
    • Ash Shalgham
    • Braised Pinto Beans (Loobia Chiti)
    • Chicken Broth with Rotisserie Chicken
    • Homemade Chicken Stock
    • Quinoa and Kale Ash
    • Soup Adas
    • Vegetarian Abgoosht Bozbash
  • Desserts
    • Almond Macaroons
    • Chocolate Almond Macaroons
    • Cream Filled Pastries
  • Hulu Ba Morgh
  • Kashk Bademjan for Two
  • Khorakeh Goosht
  • Khoresht
    • Bademjan
      • Bademjan in Pressure Cooker
    • Beh
    • Esfenaj and Aloo
    • Fesenjan
    • Gheymeh
      • Gheymeh for Two
    • Gheymeh Bademjan
    • Gormeh Sabzi
      • Ghormeh Sabzi for Two
      • Ghormeh Sabzi in Pressure Cooker
    • Karafs
    • Loobia Sabz
    • Vegetarian Khoresht Bamieh Bademjan
    • Vegetarian Khoresht Beh
  • Khoresht Kadoo Bademjan Ba Morgh
  • Khoresht Karafs in Pressure Cooker
  • KuKu (Frittata)
    • Eggplant KuKu
      • Eggplant Kuku with Less Oil
    • KuKu Sabzi
  • Mash Polo with Mushroom
  • Meat/Chicken/Fish
    • Braised Chicken Thighs
    • Briased Chicken Breasts
    • Goosht
    • Ground Beef Kabab
    • Kabab Kishmish
    • Kabab Koobideh
    • Khorak Morgh
    • Koofteh Berenji
    • Kotlet
    • Mahi
    • Mahi Azad
    • Morgh Schnitzel
    • Pan Kabab
    • Persian Macaroni
    • Potato Crusted Salmon
  • My Family's Favorites
    • Angel Hair Pasta With Shrimp
  • Persian-Style Tuna Rice Bowl
  • Polo
    • Adas Polo
    • Baghali Polo
    • Cheshm Bolboli Polo
    • Estamboli Polo
      • Estamboli Polo with Ground Beef
    • Kalam Polo
      • Kalam Polo With Ground Beef
    • Polo/Chelo
      • Kateh
      • Polo in Rice Cooker
    • Reshteh Polo
      • Reshteh Polo with Meatballs (Noodle Rice)
    • Sabzi Polo
      • Sabzi Polo in Rice Cooker
      • Sabzi Polo Kateh Style
    • Shirin Polo in Rice Cooker
    • Tahchin Morgh
      • Tahchin Morgh for Two
    • Zereshk Polo
  • Rice Cooker Bagali Polo
  • Vegan Kalam Polo (Persian Cabbage Rice)
  • Vegan Khoresht Bamieh
  • Vegan Khoresht Hulu
  • Vegetarian Esfenaj Aloo
  • Vegetarian Gheymeh Bademjan Khoresht
  • Vegetarian ghormeh sabzi
  • Vegetarian Khoresht Beh Aloo
  • Vegetarian Khoresht Fesenjan
  • Vegetarian Khoresht Gheymeh
  • Vegetarian Khoresht Kadoo
  • Vegetarian Khoresht Karafs

Blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • Mastering Persian Cooking
    • Join 71 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Mastering Persian Cooking
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...