Koresh (Persian Chicken Stew)

I got this recipe from my daughter, who got it from her sister-in-law, who got it from a cookbook but I don’t know which one. The intro to the recipe says it’s a California version of a traditional Persian dish, a thick, saucy stew served with rice. In Iran the dish is usually made with lamb, which is hard to find kosher these days, so the California style is to make it with chicken.

The first time I made it I used chicken breast, which turned out to be a little too dry, so I recommend using thighs.

It’s a nice recipe for Sukkot, which we celebrate starting just over two weeks from now, because you need to bring just two serving dishes out to the sukkah, one for the stew and one for the rice.

Ingredients:

½ cup green split peas
3 – 4 Tbs. olive oil
1 large or two small onions, finely chopped
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2¼ cups chicken stock
1 tsp. ground turmeric
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
2 small eggplants, diced (use one large one if you can find small ones)
8 to 10 ripe tomatoes or 2 14-oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 Tbs. dried mint
Salt and black pepper to taste
Fresh mint for garnish
Rice for serving

Directions:

Put the split peas in a bowl, pour cold water over them to cover, and soak for about 4 hours. Drain well.

Heat a little of the oil in a pan, add two-thirds of the onions and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides.

Add the soaked split peas to the chicken, then the stock, turmeric, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook over medium-high heat for about 40 minutes until the split peas are tender.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan, add the eggplant and remaining onions, and cook until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes, garlic and mint, and season with salt and pepper.

Just before serving, stir the eggplant mixture into the split pea and chicken stew. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve with rice.

Serves 6 to 8