Zīrbāj with Quince -- a Medieval Chicken Stew

I was out driving one day and passed a farm stand selling, among many other things, quinces and pumpkins.  The pumpkins were an edible variety, so I purchased one to make another batch of the Pumpkin Tian.  (Click here for the post.  This time I included zucchini, onions, and corn.  It, too, was good.)

I knew I wanted to do something with quinces, but I really didn't want to make candied quince, quince paste, or any other "usual" recipe involving quinces and great quantities of sugar.

This book, Medieval Cuisine of the Islamic World by Lilia Zaouali, offered up an intriguing choice:  a meat and fruit stew that included quinces, apples, and jujubes.  I happened to have all three available, and I chose chicken as my meat.

ISBN 978-0-520-26174-7

The recipe is on page 80; it is number 19 in the Sweet-and-Sour Dishes chapter.

Zīrbāj with Quince

Take some cooked meat, add some coarsely crushed chickpeas, and cook [some more]; then add the broth of the meat, vinegar, honey or sugar, some saffron, some quinces [cut] into pieces, and some new apples, also cut into pieces.  If you like, [put in] some peeled almonds and some jujubes, or else pistachios and mint.  Let thicken over fire and serve.

Another version:  follow the same procedure, with a little starch to thicken [the sauce]; the color remains yellow.

My Redaction

1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, skinned

1/3 cup dried garbanzo beans

3 quinces

2 apples

12 dried jujubes

1/2 cup chopped almonds

3 tablespoons honey

4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon saffron

Since the recipe called for cooked meat to start, I put the chicken thighs in water (about 1/2 way up the sides) and simmered them for 20 minutes.  The pan was covered.

In the meantime, I needed to crush the garbanzo beans.  My first thought was to use a mortar and pestle, but that resulted in beans flying all over the kitchen.  (!)  So I turned to my coffee grinder that is not allowed to touch coffee beans, and it did a good job.

Before

After

The recipe didn't specify if the beans were to be dried or cooked, so after I ground them, I soaked them in 1/2 cup hot water while the chicken was cooking.  

When the chicken was done, I deboned it.

I changed the procedure a little at this point.  I was concerned about cooking the beans with just the meat -- it didn't seem like enough water for them.  So I mixed the beans and their water with the deboned meat and its water, simmering for another 10 minutes, covered.

While this was cooking, I cut the quinces and apples into bite-sized pieces.  They went into a bigger pan.  Then I added the chicken/bean mix along with the jujubes, almonds, saffron, honey, and vinegar.

After mixing them well, I thought the liquid level was too low, so I added a little bit more water.

I set the fire to very low and simmered the mixture for 45 minutes covered and another 45 minutes uncovered.

At this point it was thick, the fruit was soft, and I thought it was ready to go.

The Verdict

My guest taster and I had just the stew for dinner.

Garnished with chopped almonds

We liked the flavor:  meaty and fruity, savory and sweet.  The jujubes added an element of bitter (warn your table guests about the seeds!), the quinces were a little sour, the nuts added a needed crunch.  I liked the saffron, honey, vinegar mix but wished it had more of a sweet and sour bite to it.  I think perhaps another vinegar, like apple cider or red wine, would have been better for this.  

Usually you mix the honey and vinegar in a 1-to-1 combination to get a good sweet and sour effect, but I put in more balsamic than honey.  I think that was right.  Even more vinegar would have been fine.

My only complaint was that the chicken was overcooked.  My guest taster did not agree.  I wanted the meat to be firmer.  If I did this again, I would not pre-cook the chicken, knowing that it had plenty of time to get cooked during the last phase.  I would start with chunks of chicken meat, already deboned.

Also, I would consider cooking the entire mixture only 45 minutes total with the lid off.  

I used an entire tablespoon of saffron but the stew did not turn out yellow.  Should I have used more?  I really can't say.

The leftover stew reheated nicely for lunch the next day.

Success!