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Akbar joojeh is Gilan’s answer to fried chicken, and it takes its name from Akbar, the restaurateur who made it famous. Small chickens are boiled briefly, then fried until crisp and finished with a sour pomegranate and garlic sauce.
Roadside restaurants along the Caspian road serve it with rice, pickled garlic and a dish of the sour sauce for dipping.
At a glance: serves four. About an hour and a quarter. Medium.
Ingredients
- 2 poussins or 1 small chicken, halved or quartered
- 1 onion, quartered
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 tbsp pomegranate molasses
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sugar (optional)
- Vegetable oil, for frying
- Salt and black pepper
Method
- Simmer the chicken with the onion, turmeric, salt and water to cover for about 25 minutes, until just cooked. Drain and pat completely dry.
- Heat 2cm of oil in a wide pan and fry the chicken, skin side down first, until deep golden and crisp all over.
- Warm the pomegranate molasses with the garlic, lemon juice, sugar and a splash of water for a minute or two until glossy.
- Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and serve the rest on the side.
Dry the chicken well. Wet chicken spits and does not crisp.
Adjust the sourness. Gilanis like it sharp. Add a little sugar if you prefer it milder.
Where to buy the ingredients. Outside Iran, you can order pomegranate molasses, a Persian rice cooker and turmeric online.
Serve with plain rice, seer torshi (pickled garlic) and mirza ghasemi on the side. Joojeh means young chicken, which is why poussins are the traditional choice.
