Fesenjan

What is it?

Ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses are cooked together for a long time until the walnut oil separates and the sauce turns deep brown. Duck, chicken or small meatballs are the usual additions.

How sweet or how sour a fesenjan should be is genuinely disputed. Northern versions tend towards sharp and dark; other households add sugar and finish sweeter. Neither is a mistake.

The Persian table

Fesenjan is served with rice and often appears at gatherings, partly because it costs more to make than an everyday khoresh and partly because it improves with the slow cooking a longer day allows.