Jordanian Chicken in Pomegranate Sauce

I have spent the last few days sorting through boxes in our garage. There was much excitement when I found a couple of folders filled with old recipes. Some are recipes that I have loved and thought I had lost. Another folder held a pile of recipes that I had printed out from the Internet, when I first discovered it.

I also found my first recipe book, neatly written out by hand when I was 17 year old. It holds a collection of favourite dishes that I cooked when I first left home. I can't wait to try some of these recipes again and am looking forward to the memories that I will find with each mouthful. I also wonder at how my tastes have changed over the years.

This recipe is not one that I have cooked before, but one I found in the pile of recipes printed from the computer. On first discovering the possibilities of the Internet I went a little crazy for a few weeks and printed out a lot recipes that (at the time) were unavailable to me. This was one of them, however last night was the first time that I cooked it.

I really love (love) pomegranate molasses, so my husband and I both loved this from the first mouthful.

Needless to say the the leftovers disappeared to work again today.

Jordanian Chicken in Pomegranate Sauce

serves 4

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 kilograms chicken pieces
• 2 onions (diced)
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed chilli
• 1/4 cup coriander leaves (chopped)
• 3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
• 1 x 400 gram can diced tomatoes
• salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a heavy based pot. Brown the chicken pieces in 2 batches and set aside. Add the diced onion and garlic to the pot and gently saute until soft. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the paprika and chilli and stir for a couple of minutes before adding the remaining ingredients. Return the chicken to the pan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 - 40 minutes until the chicken is cooked.

You could add a little more chilli than this, I have halved the amount of chilli from the original recipe because of our children. Not that it mattered, they do not love (love) pomegranate molasses and did not eat the sauce anyway. I served this with plain rice last night, but a pilau would have been better. Or better still serve this as part of a large Middle Eastern feast. Delicious.