Prepare your walnuts. You can chop them finely or pulse them in a food processor. I like to keep some chunky for texture (see photo in post), but this dish also comes out great when they are pulsed finely. Set aside.
Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion. Cook for a couple minutes, coating the onion in the oil.
Then add the chicken pieces. Season with salt, pepper, and the tumeric. Brown on all sides, 10-12 min.
Add the pomegranate molasses and about 2 cups water to the pot**. You want the liquid to cover the chicken. Then add the pulsed walnuts.
Bring to a boil, reduce to the lowest simmer, and cook for 2 hours.
If you don't want to make rice, you can add small potatoes to the stew after 1 hour. Poke a few holes in the potatoes with a fork before adding them to the stew.
This stew is best served reheated the next day, but is also delicious the day-of. To reheat, add a couple tablespoons of stock or water and heat over low temperature until hot.
Notes
** If it is your first time making this dish, you should see how sweet or sour you want the dish, first. You can add the processed walnuts, pomegranate molasses, and 2 cups of water to a bowl and mix together. Taste it. If it is too sour for you, add brown sugar, one tablespoon at a time, to the desired sweetness.Consistency: If the stew comes out too liquidy, you can add more ground walnuts. The stew should not be too thin, so you can also leave the lid off for 15-20 minutes to let some of the liquid evaporate.Freezes very, very well.Buying store-bought pomegranate molasses is usually less expensive than making your own.