Home Cooking = Mom's Persian Chicken with Yogurt, Raisins, and Almonds

Usually when I go home dinner it something we come up with at the last minute. Don't get me wrong, it's always tasty, but it's still some sort of creation we make with leftovers. When I went home for spring break though, my mother told me she was going to make my favorite Persian chicken dish - and boy did she deliver...

Why do I love this meal so much? Because it is a) easy b) inexpensive and c) full of flavor

We used to use chicken legs, but my mom has switched over the thighs. A little dark meat never hurt anyone; feel free to use chicken breasts if you want, but it probably won't be as juicy.

Fry off one sliced onion until it is golden.

Sear the thighs in a skillet with turmeric, pepper, salt, and cardamom, cinnamon, and a little cumin. Add the onions and set aside.

Fry the almonds and raisins. Set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt and 1 cup sour cream with a pinch of salt. Taste to be sure the sour cream flavor is more prevalent and add more accordingly if you have to. Set aside.

Place the chicken mixture in a Pyrex dish and pour in about a cup or a half cup of boiling water. This creates a juice for the chicken to cook in. Cover with the sour cream mixture. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 300 for about 15-20 minutes. The chicken is essentially already cooked, so you just want to give everything time for the flavors to meld together. Take out and put the almonds and raisins over it, along with another fried onion - this time fry it till it is pretty dark.

Serve over rice!!!

*Note: this is the chicken component to a Persian dish called Shirin Polo, or sweet rice. It is traditionally served at happy occasions, like weddings. You serve the chicken alongside rice that you have covered with sweet carrots and more fried almonds (or pistachios) and raisins. To make the carrots, fry about 1 bag of pre-julienned carrots in grapeseed oil. Add salt and 1/4 tsp cardamom and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. And continue frying till the carrots have just a little crunch left. Put this over the rice, then add the nuts and raisins.

Persian Coutlets...the recipe you've been waiting for

Coulet has been in my family for years. I remember my grandmother making them in her kitchen when I was a very small girl. You have to eat them right off the griddle, while they still have a nice crust on them. But cold is fine, too. We usually wrap them in pita bread with a little yogurt or onion and cucumber. Greek yogurt is best. And if you want, try adding a few shards of French Feta. And just fry any leftover potato bits - wasting is not an option with something this good :)



The recipe is really quite simple:


1 onion, grated - keep the juice
1 pound ground beef - a lean kind
3 to 4 grated potatoes
1 egg
ground cornflakes (for breading)
salt, pepper, garlic powder, turmeric

Boil the potatoes and grate them into a bowl

Grate the onion into the bowl as well, keeping the juice because that's where a lot of the flavor comes from

Add the meat and spices - normally, we add a Persian spice here, but the recipe is fine without it

Add the egg and mush everything together with your hands (or a fork)

Form into patties and roll in cornflakes seasoned with turmeric and salt and pepper

Fry in olive oil until they turn golden brown - because of the turmeric they will turn pretty dark when they fry, but be sure they don't burn!