Tag: chicken

Khoresh Morgh-e Esfenaj – Chicken Stew with Spinach
This recipe for Khoresh Morgh-e Esfenaj is a fairly recent addition to our family meals, with my husband finding a recipe when looking online for ideas for dinner one night. We have, of course, adapted it to make it a quick and easy meal. You can make it your own by using different sabzi’s or different citrus juices and create an entirely different combination of tastes.

Things to note when making Khoresh Morgh-e Esfanaj – Chicken Stew with Spinach

I always like to prepare all the ingredients before I start to cook. Dice the onion and chicken, prepare and chop the sabzi and measure out the spices.

Be sure to use enough oil when frying spices with the onions. The spices flavor develops as they are heated and mixed with the oil. Be careful, as at this stage the mixture can easily burn.

I will admit that I am a lazy cook, so I do as much as I can to make cooking easy. In this recipe I used tinned chick peas, frozen spinach, and also frozen leek, that I had prepared when a neighbor popped over with some fresh leeks from his garden. The coriander and mint were fresh from our garden, but could be easily be replaced with dried coriander and mint, even dried leek which is readily available from a good middle eastern grocer.

While to dish is simmering, I start the polo rice, and by the time the rice is ready, the Khoresh Morgh-e Esfanaj has developed into a tantilising, healthy dish ready to eat. Serve the Khoresht with white rice, a simple mixed leaf salad and (of course) thick natural yogurt on the side.

This recipe for Khoresh Morgh-e Esfenaj serves 12, and works well if you pack and freeze this into meal sized portions. Always ready for a healthy meal on a busy night. Simply pull from the freezer, microwave to heat and serve with rice or flat bread.
Khoresh Morgh-e Esfanaj – Chicken Stew with Spinach

This recipe for Khoresh Morgh-e Esfenaj is a fairly recent addition to our family meals, with my husband finding a recipe when looking online for ideas for dinner one night. We have, of course, adapted it to make it a quick and easy meal. You can make it your own by using different sabzi’s or different citrus juices and create an entirely different combination of tastes.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Course Main Course
Cuisine Persian

Servings 12 people
Calories 134 kcal

Ingredients

3 tlbs olive oil
2 large onions chopped
3 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 kg chicken breast diced
500 gram spinach
2 medium leeks
½ cup mint leaves
½ cup coriander
2 tins chick peas (400g tins)
½ cup lemon juice

Instructions

heat 2 tlbs oil in a large, heavy based saucepan
add onions and gently fry until semi transparent
add the turmeric, cinnamon, salt, pepper and cumin, and gently fry until all the oil has been absorbed, and the mixture looks quite dry
add the reserved tlb oil with the chicken and cook for around 5 minutes, until the surface of the chicken pieces are sealed
add the mint, coriander and fresh leek, and stir fry until the sabzi looks quite limp
Stir through the chopped spinach, and cook for a further 5 minutes
add lemon juice, chick peas and enough water to just cover the khoresh
bring to the boil and the reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes
add more salt or lemon juice to taste and the tinned chick peas
simmer for around around 1hour until the flavor has developed and the sauce has slightly thickened

Notes
This khoresh is very rich in flavor, and has that lovely torsh tang from the lemon juice.
Serve with white polo rice and a side salad of mixed leaves, tomato and cucumber.

Nutrition
Calories: 134kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 20gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 717mgPotassium: 647mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 4309IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg

Keyword chick peas, Chicken, spinach

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January 4, 2021
Baghali Polo – Rice with Broad Beans, Dill & Chicken
Baghali Polo is a traditional rice dish combining the flavours of the delicate Broad bean with Dill. This recipe includes chicken and becomes a complete meal. Although it can be a little time consuming to remove the outer husks from the bread bean, it is a quick and easy Iranian meal, served with Yoghurt, mixed tomato and cucumber salad and a bowl of Sabzi (fresh herbs).
Baghali Polo – Rice with Broad Beans, Dill & Chicken

A delicious Persian rice with layers of chicken, dill and broad beans

4.75 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Course Main Course
Cuisine Persian

Servings 8
Calories 440 kcal

Equipment
1 Persian Rice Cooker Recommended

Ingredients

2 cups basmati rice
2 tlbs salt
1 kg diced chicken breast
1 onion
1 tsp turmeric
2 tlbs salt
500 g frozen Broad Beans
1/2 cup dried Dill
1 piece Lebanese flat bread
2 tlbs butter or olive oil

Instructions

Place chicken, onion, salt and turmeric in a large saucepan with some vegetable oil.
Seer the outside of the chicken pieces, and add about 1 cup of water.
Lower heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked and the liquid has reduced.
Strain and wash the rice under running water until the water runs clear, to remove any remaining starch.
Remove the outer husks form the broad beans and discard.
In the bottom of a heavy based saucepan, or a Persian Rice cooker add the melted butter or olive oil.
Separate the 2 layers of the Lebanese bread and lay one piece on the butter in the bottom of the saucepan or Persian Rice Booker to form the tahdig.
Gently spoon a layer the rice over the bread.
Add a layer of cooked chicken and fresh Broad Beans.
Generously add a layer of dried dill.
Repeat the layers until the chicken and dill is used. Usually 2 layers of each. Finish with a layer of Rice.
Gently pour over any remaining juices form the chicken on the top. Add an extra knob of butter if desired.
Place a tea-towel or a cloth under the saucepan or rice cookers lid to absorb any excess moisture while the rice is steaming.
Cook on a high heat until the sides of the pan are hot to touch, then reduce the heat to low and cook for about 30 – 45 minutes. Alternately if using a Persian Rice cooker, allow to run the full cycle.
Place the bottom of the saucepan or rice cooker pan in about 3 cm of water in a sink to loosen the tahdig.
Turn the pan upside down onto a round serving dish to serve.

Notes
This recipe uses flat Lebanese bread for the tahdig, you can also use potato if you wish.

Nutrition
Calories: 440kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 38gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 402mgPotassium: 1205mgFiber: 6gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 912IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 314mgIron: 9mg

Keyword Chicken, dill, rice

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Additional Tips.

A Persian rice cooker makes this dish much easier as the Tahdig is formed perfectly each time with out the risk of either soggy or burnt Tahdig.
August 31, 2013
Salad Olivieh
One of the most well known Persian chicken salad, the salad is very similar to Russian salad. There is many variations of Persian Salad Olivieh. Some versions have shredded chicken or you can have a vegetarian Salad Olivieh with boiled eggs.

Otherwise known as Persian Potato Salad, you can serve salad olivieh with sliced dill pickle and cooked frozen peas as decoration.

When making salad olivieh, it is important to have the right balance between the potato, salad cream, chicken and dill pickles. Not enough salad cream or mayonnaise will make this dish heavy, and dry, whereas not enough chicken will make it just like a normal potato salad.

The cooked chicken must be completely cold before adding to the salad olivieh. Shredding the chicken will enable the chicken to be perfectly distributed through the salad olivieh.

You can use either chicken thigh fillet or chicken breast fillet, but I find the chicken thigh fillet is less stringy in the chicken salad.

Use a mixing bowl to combine all the ingredients, and there is nothing better than using your hands to mix it all through.
Salad Olivieh

A simple appetiser or delicious sandwich filling, this Persian chicken and potato salad is a must for any picnic. Served with Nun Barbari or on a French baguette

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour

Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine Persian

Servings 6 serving
Calories 699 kcal

Ingredients

500 g Chicken Thigh Fillet
1 kg potatoes
1 cup cooked frozen green peas
6 dill cucumbers Kheeyar Shoor
3/4 cup mayonnaise
salt and pepper
Extra mayonnaise and dill cucumber to decorate

Instructions

Steam chicken in enough water to just cover for about 20 minutes until well cooked, drain and leave to cool.
Peel potatoes and cut into quarters and place in a large saucepan
Boil with about 1 tsp salt in enough water to just cover until tender, then mash and leave to cool.
Place cooled chicken and dill cucumber in the bowl of a food processor and process till roughly chopped.
Tip into a large bowl and stir in the mashed potatoes.
Stir the mayonnaise through and add salt and pepper to taste.
Gently stir through the green peas.
To serve, tip into a flat dish similar to a lasagna dish, and smooth the surface. Spread with extra mayonnaise and decorate with the dill cucumbers, sliced lengthwise.

Notes
If desired you can replace the chicken fillet with a cold cooked BBQ chicken, removing and discarding the bones and skin.
Persian Salad Olivieh sandwiches are great for picnics or a quick and easy lunch

Nutrition
Calories: 699kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 19gFat: 54gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 27gMonounsaturated Fat: 15gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 104mgSodium: 937mgPotassium: 1015mgFiber: 6gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 407IUVitamin C: 44mgCalcium: 72mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Chicken

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July 13, 2013
Grilled Chicken
Yumm. Who doesn’t love grilled chicken. Served with a salad, on a sandwich or wrapped in flat pitta bread. It just tastes good.

Marinating the Chicken

Just add all the ingredients to a food processor or a Nutri-Bullet. The oil will emulsify with the herbs and garlic and look quite green.

Make sure you score the chicken pieces in different places. This has 2 purposes. Firstly to make sure that the marinade penetrates the chicken evenly, and secondly, the chicken pieces are more evenly cooked. Try to leave the chicken marinating for at least 30 minutes, but a couple of hours is optimum.

Grilled Chicken

The best way to server this grilled chicken is with lettuce, tomato and cucumber on flat bread. Some Yoghurt and Cucumber gives it the finishing touches.
Grilled Chicken

A healthy grilled chicken with the delicate flavours of Basil and Garlic. We cook this grilled chicken on the Webber BBQ, making it a very quick and easy meal without having to light the charcoal used for the traditional Persian BBQ.

5 from 1 vote

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

Course Main Course
Cuisine Persian

Servings 4 Servings
Calories 670 kcal

Equipment
1 Webber BBQ

Ingredients

1 kg Chicken thigh fillet
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp salt

Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor place all the ingredients except the chicken. Process until well combined
To prepare the chicken fillets, slice through the thick sections and score the surface to enable the marinade to penetrate the flesh.
Preheat the grill BBQ to a high heat.
Turn down the heat and place the chicken fillets on the hot grill. Close the lid of the BBQ for about 5 minutes.
Turn the chicken and cook for a further 5 – 10 minutes until cooked to you liking.
Serve with flat bread and salad.

Notes
For interesting alternative, try this with different herbs – sabzi – like coriander with a touch of chilli, or garlic chives – tare.

Nutrition
Calories: 670kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 41gFat: 55gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 245mgSodium: 775mgPotassium: 536mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 512IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Chicken

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July 13, 2013
Chicken with Orange
Khoresht Naranj – Chicken with Orange

This is a variation of the traditional Khoresht Naranj.

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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Course Main Course
Cuisine Persian

Servings 0
Calories 3129 kcal

Ingredients

1 whole chicken 1.5kg – 2kg
4 navel oranges
1 cup of mixed dried fruit and nuts including
sultanas
dried apricots
prunes
slivered almonds
2 carrots
1 green apple

Instructions

Wash chicken and split the chicken by cutting the breastbone from top to bottom.
Place the split chicken in a roasting pan that has a good fitting lid.
Spread the dried fruit and nuts over the chicken.
Core the apple, slice and place over the dried fruit.
Slice 2 oranges and lay over the sliced apple.
Peel the carrots and cut into matchstick size pieces, and spread around the chicken.
Juice the remaining oranges and pour the juice over the chicken, and sprinkle with salt and cinnamon.
Roughly chop the orange skins and add to the dish.
Secure the lid and cook in a slow oven for about 2-3 hours till well cooked.

Notes
The surprising thing about this dish is how tasty the cooked orange skin becomes after absorbing the flavours of the other ingredients.

Nutrition
Calories: 3129kcalCarbohydrates: 324gProtein: 168gFat: 142gSaturated Fat: 35gPolyunsaturated Fat: 31gMonounsaturated Fat: 64gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 571mgSodium: 649mgPotassium: 5959mgFiber: 45gSugar: 225gVitamin A: 27315IUVitamin C: 364mgCalcium: 661mgIron: 15mg

Keyword Chicken

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July 13, 2013