Quince & Pomegranate Love Stew
A Tasty Love Story
What better way to celebrate love than by dedicating a beautiful and delicious Iranian stew to your parents. This week we visit Shabi Aminicheryani of "Coconut Heaven Blog" in her home kitchen to learn about her tasty "love" stew.
"This recipe is dedicated to my mom and dad and their pure love for each other. My mom loves Quince, and my dad loved Pomegranates, and they loved each other very much. Even though my dad passed away early in his forties, my mom kept his love in her heart forever. She never remarried and always said no one could replace my father's place in her heart. This unique dish represents their unique and everlasting love. Who could imagine these two fruits, Quince, and Pomegranate, so much in love (my mom comes from a religious family and my dad from a modern family).
I hope anyone out there who makes this recipe feels Quince and Pomegranate's love for each other, and experiences an eternal love. After all, love is all we need, and whatever the question, the answer is always love." - Shabi Aminicheryani
Shabnam "Shabi" Aminicheryani
Instagram: @coconutheavenblog
Facebook: @Coconutheavenblog
Website: CoconutHeavenBlog.com
Ingredients
Stew
- Fresh Quince 1
- Pomegranate 1
- Onion 1
- Lamb or beef or chicken chunk 250g
- Walnut 1/2 cup
- Pomegranate Molasses 2 Tbsp
- Tomato Paste 1 Tbsp
- Tomato 1 (I used 1 cup of grape tomatoes)
- Spices: salt, black pepper, turmeric, 7 spices 1 Tsp of each
- Cinnamon 1/4 Tsp
- Sugar 2 Tsp
- Oil and butter
Golden Saffron Rice Tahdig “Crispy Rice”
- Basmati Rice 2 cups
- Bloomed Saffron Water 2 tsp
- Oil and butter
Instructions
Stew
- Wash and dice the quince (don’t peel it)
- Wash, peel and cut the onion and sauté in a deep pan or pot. Once the color is changed slightly, add the meat and continue stirring on medium-high temperature until the meat is brown. Then add all spices (except salt) and mix.
- Now, add the walnuts (don’t crush it) and stir, then add the quince and 1/2 of pomegranate seeds (save 1/2 to garnish your stew later), pomegranate molasses, and tomatoes paste and stir.
- Add enough water to cover all the ingredients, put the lid on, and cook on low temperature for 45 minutes to one hour.
- After 45 minutes, add the salt if the meat is cooked, grape tomatoes, and 2 tsp of sugar. Then cover, and let it cook for another 30 - 45 minutes.
- Serve it with basmati rice and use pomegranate seeds to garnish the top
- NOTE: reduce the cooking time by half when using chicken
Golden Saffron Rice Tahdig “Crispy Rice”
- Wash and soak the rice for a few hours.
- Prepare saffron by adding an ice cube, and letting it melt (use on ice cube for 1 tsp of ground saffron)
- Bring water to boil in a deep pot (nonstick pots are the best for Tahdig making)
- Add the rice, a few drops of oil and salt, and boil the rice for 6-7 minutes, and then drain it.
- In a bowl mix the drained rice with 2 tsp of prepared saffron and set aside
- Put the pot on medium heat and add oil and butter, then add the saffron rice to the bottom of the pot completely covering it.
- Now add rest of the rice, cover and cook on medium low heat for 25 minutes (use a kitchen towel to cover the lid of the pot)
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