Fessin Jun Recipe

[fud]

I tried doing a search but I think I'm not spelling the name of this dish correctly. It's a wonderful dish of meat and walnuts and tonnes of pomogranate. I had it at my friend's house and they served it with saffron rice on top of thinly sliced potatos. I would love the recipe. It's one of those (mom reciples) I ate and I'm too embarassed to call up his mum

I'm sure there might be a thread here on this already so I'd love a link to it!

Thanks so much!

[Swisskaese]

Is this a Persian dish?

[Swisskaese]

It sounds like Koresht Fesenjaan, which is made with chicken. I will see if I can find a meat version.

Here is another recipe that says you can use meat, duck or partridge:

Fesenjaan

BTW - the sliced potatoes are used as a technique to cook the basmati rice.

I really love Persian food and shouldn't be ashamed to ask for the recipe. I am sure she would have been flattered to give it to you.

Edited April 15, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[Swisskaese]

Here is a recipe for the rice with saffron and potatoes at the bottom. I have never been able to make Persian rice with the crust (tah-dig) or the potato crust.

One of my friends has promised me to show me how to make it. Which reminds me that I need to call him and ask him for an appointment.

Edited April 15, 2006 by Swisskaese (log)

[fud]

Here is a recipe for the rice with saffron and potatoes at the bottom. I have never been able to make Persian rice with the crust (tah-dig) or the potato crust.

One of my friends has promised me to show me how to make it. Which reminds me that I need to call him and ask him for an appointment.

←

Excellent thanks so much SwissKaese! The spelling you gave me had more hits on the search site! I believe traditionally this persian dish is cooked with duck but I think beef or chicken will work just as well!

[sazji]

Tah dig - I got "lessons" (which mostly consisted of my friend's Iranian mother saying "AAAA! DON'T DO THAT!!!!!") in making good chelo. Of course everyone does it a little differently, so nothing here is gospel.

I soak the rice overnight, especially if it's a good basmati or domsiah. This makes it extend when you boil it. Boil till it's almost done but still has a bit of hardness/resistance in the center. I think it probably takes a few times with it coming out tough or mushy before you get it. When it's done, strain it but my friend's mom nearly throttled me when I went to rinse it out. "IT WILL LOOSE ALL ITS FLAVOR! DOOOON'T!" Kobra Khanom runs a tight kitchen.

As for the tah dig - you can do several things. I think I like the potato one the best. Use a thick non-stick pot if you can, to get good heat distribution. But it also works in plain old teflon.

Cut the potatoes thin, about 1/8 of an inch or so. Put a tablespoon or so of oil on the bottom of the pan, and arrange the potatoes. Pile the strained rice loosley on top, and poke holes in the pile for good steam permeation.

Cover the pot with a clean towel and put the lid on (it should fit tightly, weigh it down if you have to). Fold up the edges.

Put the pot on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes; you should hear things popping in there. It shouldn't burn - think of how long it takes to get potatoes to brown normally. Then turn it to medium low (not *too* low) and let it go for about 20 minutes. NOTE YOUR FLAME SETTING! You shouldn't be opening up the pot, but if you check after 20 minutes and things are not quite done, you need to turn up the heat. You can sprinkle a bit more water if it's dried out.

When the rice is done, turn it out and remove the tahdig which should come out easily. If it's not well browned, make a note to turn up the heat a bit next time. You'll find the sweet point eventually.

For me the harder one is doing it with lavash...it's much easier to burn. A friend's sister puts shreds of dry bread (not the crust) all over the bottom of the pot, and then puts the rice on. It makes a very delicate, crisp bottom. I have tried it once and failed miserably...so I'll turn the heat down a bit for that one!

[lalala]

You can make fesenjoon with beef and I have seen veggies make it with mushrooms. Its not the meat that makes the fesenjaan, its mixing the rohbe-anar (pomengranate paste) with the ground walnuts to make it sweet, not bitter.

As for tahe-dig or potbottom as my grandfather used to say, my mom has good luck with tortillas.

I'm a girl who likes it with potatoes, but am not a big user of oil, so they are typically dry.

Like Elaine on Seinfeld, I just wish you could order tahe-dig, like muffin tops. Its the best part of the rice and my American friends fight over it.

lalala

[fud]

Thanks everyone!

I made it last week and the fesenjoon was pretty good (chicken was a little dry - I know to reserve it a little earlier in the process). The tahe-dig was...well...not so good. I think the rice needs to be cooked less initially - the rice was all soft before I added it to the potato pot. I plan to cook it much less next time. I DID notice that after soaking the rice overnight it was already soft! Did I buy low grade basmati?

The pot I used was also not non stick so the potatoes didn't come out very easily. But the potatoes were nicely brown and very cristpy...the saffron I added to the bottom added some nice aroma.

I will be making this again!!

[FoodMan]

Don't soak the basmati for that long, I never do. Maybe 30 minutes at the most.

[Swisskaese]

Don't soak the basmati for that long, I never do. Maybe 30 minutes at the most.

←

I just rinse mine three times in a colander. I do not soak it.

[lalala]

Don't soak the basmati for that long, I never do. Maybe 30 minutes at the most.

←

I just rinse mine three times in a colander. I do not soak it.

←

I soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Glad you made your fesenjoon!

mmm.

lalala

[fud]

^ well that explains it! Overnight soaking probably made it way too soft! I will try for 1 hour next time.

Here's a picture of my 'Taduk'

[lalala]

Nice job.

You are making me hungry, but we're having tortilla soup for dinner.

lalala

[fud]

Nice job.

You are making me hungry, but we're having tortilla soup for dinner.

lalala

←

One more question. I used onions and carrots for body and sweetness. Do you normally blend this all in with the walnuts and pomogranate? I did but I wasnt' sure if it was more traditional and rustic to leave the carrots and onions as-is in the Fessen Jun.