Fesenjan & Tachin @ Kh's

Almost every time I head to Shoresh for a weekend lunch at Bakery & More, I pass by a Persian restaurant called Hazar u Yek Shab (1001 Nights). And almost every time I pass, I make the split second decision to skip Bakery & More and see what Iran has to offer diners in Hawler. Unfortunately, in the split second that it takes me to make the decision, we pass Hazar u Yek Shab and a sigh of relief escapes. I mean, I am not normally unadventurous - especially when it comes to food... but the possibility of being the only woman in a restaurant with almost no windows and tables crowded with men who would likely be smoking, causing a heavy fog to hover just above the tables; other diners occasionally treating me to a hostile glare as I nervously try to figure out how I am going to order from the menu with no English... Well, obviously, my mind has arrived at a worst case scenario.

Anyway, this weekend past, I was invited for a Persian dinner... not at Hazar u Yek Shab or Kingdom (another restaurant in Shoresh which I also suspect is Persian), but for a home-cooked meal at the home of a colleague from Iran.

And the verdict? FANTASTIC! Eggplant and ground beef stew in a tomato base... Fesenjan (walnut pomegranate chicken), Tachin (baked basmati rice with saffron and chicken) and white rice. The eggplant dish was somehow familiar, the Tachin undeniably delicious... but it was the pomegranate walnut chicken that really caught my attention. Small pieces of chicken suspended in a sticky dark sauce (the bottom pot in the picture); it wasn't much to look at, but the taste... tangy, savory and surprising! I will definitely be trying this one at home! (And I will also muster up some courage, find a fellow diner and try the fare at 1001 Nights.)