Nardoon - Persian Pomegranate Duck/Chicken Stew
Nardoon or Anardoon is a scrumptious sweet and sour dish from the place of heavenly dishes - northern Iran. The word Nardoon translates to pomegranate seeds. The pomegranate is Iran’s national fruit, so there are many recipes using pomegranates in different ways - as molasses, juice and seeds. The unique thing about Nardoon is that we use all three.
The duck or chicken is seared and then simmered in pomegranate juice so that it absorbs some of the natural sweet and sour taste of this divine fruit while releasing its flavour and fats into the sauce.
In Mazandaran, this dish is also known as Sir Anaar Pahloo, which translates to ‘garlic and pomegranate next to each other’.
For this recipe, I used duck legs but you could use chicken legs or your preferred cut of chicken.
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Cook the most popular Persian dishes at home with the help of my e-book.
Time
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 1 h 20 min
Total: 1 h 25 min
Ingredients (serving 4)
4 duck legs or 4 chicken legs (about 1kg/ 2.2lbs)
1 onion
5 cloves garlic
3 cups / 700ml pomegranate juice (juice of 6 pomegranate)
1 cup pomegranate seeds (seeds of about 1 pomegranate)
1/2 cup/118ml vegetable oil
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 tbsp butter
1.5 tbsp sugar
1.5 tsp turmeric
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
Method of cooking Anardoon
Preparation
Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.
De-seed the pomegranate.
If you’re using chicken legs, remove the skin. You can easily remove the skin in one go using a paper towel.
If you’re using duck legs, keep the skin on as it’s full of flavour.
Cooking the stew
Sear the duck/chicken legs in 6 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat until golden brown all around. Remove and set them aside.
Gently caramelise the onion over low to medium heat in the same oil that you seared the duck/chicken in. After about 15 minutes add the garlic and fry them together for a few more minutes.
Keep the heat on low. Add the tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, turmeric and black pepper. Combine well.
Add the pomegranate juice.
Return the chicken or duck legs (or any cut you have) to the pan. Season with salt to taste.
Pour a few tablespoons of sauce over the part of the legs which are not covered by the sauce.
Put on the lid and let the stew simmer over low heat for 1h to 1h 15 min if you’re using chicken legs and 1h 30 min to 1h 45 min if you’re using duck legs.
Turn the legs after half an hour so both sides get to absorb the sauce’s flavour. Occasionally pour some of the sauce over them.
Adding the pomegranate seeds
Once the stew is done and the duck/chicken legs are perfectly tender, place a non-stick pan over medium heat. Melt 2 tbsp butter and add the sugar and pomegranate seeds. Stir quickly for 30 sec. Add the pomegranate seeds to the stew and serve it immediately.
Serve your Anardoon
Adjust the salt, sweetness and sourness to your taste. Be careful not to simmer the stew after adding the pomegranate seeds.
Serve your delicious Nardoon with Persian Saffron Rice.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe. I’d love to see your Nardoon! Feel free to tag me with @igotitfrommymaman on Facebook or Insta so I can take a look and give you a thumbs up!
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