Last Updated on 26/01/2023 by Saffron & Herbs
This sweet and sour chicken, courgette and plum stew, flavoured with cardamom, turmeric and saffron is a great addition to your catalogue of weekday meals. Ready to eat in an hour for you and your family.
Coming to the end of the Summer
Khoresh (Persian stew) season is awakening from it’s summer slumber after an array of kebabs, kuku and salads in my household.
I love this season with the deeply comforting stews to warm us through the colder months and, of course, any excuse to eat more Persian rice and Tahdig. I appreciate that cooking Persian food can appear daunting to some, but as with any recipe after you have cooked the dish say about 3 times, added your own little bit of magic to it too, the whole process is familiar and fairly swift. With all that said I am always looking for ways to produce delicious Persian food for weekday meals at a shorter time than sometimes prescribed for our dishes, particularly our slow-cooked stews.
AKA the 1 hour Stew
Let me introduce you to Khoresh Kadoo ba Aloo (chicken, courgette & sour plum stew). This khoresh is ready to eat about an hour from when you start chopping all the ingredients. The use of chicken breast means it doesn’t need to slow-cook and the meat remains juicy. Courgettes (‘kadoo‘) cook in no time at all and a few little tricks with additional spices / condiments means it is perfectly balanced and feels like the khoresh has fallen into place with its flavours (as if it has been simmering for hours). This dish is a great transition dish from summer to autumn as it uses courgettes which are still in season to October.
What is Aloo?
Aloo is the name we give to the dried sour plums (Aloo Bukhara) you can buy them from Asian (for example Indian and Pakistani) supermarkets. If you don’t use all the packet in one go then put the remaining plums in the freezer and they keep for ages until you want to cook this recipe again or try out my other recipe featuring them Khoresh-e Beh ba Aloo (chicken stew with quince, sour plums and apricots). Remember that the sour plums have pips in them which you can remove while you are eating – the plums will fall apart easily once cooked and you can remove them with your spoon and fork while eating.
How to Serve this Dish?
Serve Khoresh Kadoo ba Aloo with kateh (Persian easy cook rice) for dinner to be ready within an hour.
How to Store Leftovers?
Once cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 3 days. Gently reheat in a saucepan on the stove or in the microwave.
Khoresh Kadoo ba Aloo
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 medium courgettes (quartered and then halved)
- 1 large brown onion (finely diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 4 medium chicken breast (cut into bite size pieces)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 bay leaf
- 500 ml vegetable stock plus 1/4 tsp ground saffron dissolved in the stock
- 15 to 20 Aloo Bukhara (dried sour plums)
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 tbsp honey
- Salt and pepper to season
Instructions
- Take a large non-stick casserole pan / skillet with a lid and place over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons oil. Fry the courgette on all sides until browned and golden. Remove and place on a kitchen towel on a plate.
- Add diced onions to pan and cook until golden. Add garlic and stir in, followed by turmeric. Stir until evenly distributed in the pan and you can smell the aromas.
- Add chicken and stir until the chicken pieces turn white (from pink). Then add tomato purée and stir until the chicken mixture is coated evenly.
- Throw in cardamom pods and bay leaf and then pour in the saffron infused stock. Add the Aloo Bukhara plums. Season with salt and pepper, squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lime and add honey. Stir the mixture.
- Gently place the fried courgettes in the stew so they are part submerged. Bring the stew to a boil and then turn the heat down to allow the khoresh to simmer with the lid on (approx 30 mins).
- Serve with Persian rice and salad.
