I was initially an Instant Pot doubter. I love both my Dutch oven and my stock pot, and I love letting the kitchen slowly fill with warmth as things simmer and cook for hours while I putz around the house. Then I got married and an Instant Pot (real talk: Instapot) literally showed up on my doorstep. At the risk of sounding ungrateful, I put it in the closet and forgot about it for at least six months.
And then I heard about making rice in the Instant Pot. My first pot of sushi rice instantly made me a convert. My first vegetable stock changed my feelings about how stock can best be made. My first batch of chickpeas led me to making hummus on a more regular basis. Rice, stock and beans are all great in the Instant Pot, but I still carried some skeptisism about cooking other things. Chicken? What’s wrong with cooking it in the oven? Turns out, chicken in the pressure cooker is delicious. The chicken ends up deeply infused with any added aromatic or spice, it becomes fall-off-the-bone tender, and requires much less attention than cooking it on the stove.
As documented by the queen of Jewish cooking, Joan Nathan, and by Georgian food guru, Carla Capalbo, the Georgian Jewish community traditionally makes chicken cooked in pomegranate juice for Rosh Hashanah. It’s a perfect recipe for the High Holidays: sweet, tart, flavorful, and eye-catching. This recipe is an adaptation from multiple recipes for this dish, but in any variation the chicken is braised in a generously-spiced, fruity pomegranate juice-based broth, and then topped with fresh red jewel-like pomegranate kernals.
The pomegranate juice adds expected sweetness, but there’s also an assertive and awakening tang that comes through, especially with the addition of tamarind and pomegranate molasses. The copious amounts of onion and garlic add deep levels of sweet savoryness to the dish. The coriander, hot pepper (not too hot), and thyme play off each other with their respective perfuminess, heat, and mintyness. It is Rosh Hashanah, so a hint of honey makes its way into the pot to remind you of sweetness without being at the forefront of the show.
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After 15 minutes at high pressure, the chicken barely clings to its bones, and the sauce becomes rich with and fortified by the golden schmaltz left over from browning the chicken. Take the chicken out and let that liquid simmer (still in the Instant Pot), and the mahogany-colored sauce will thicken and become silky and as decedent as a festive meal demands.
Once the chicken and sauce are plated, you shower them with the bright green fresh herbs and the glistening ruby red pomegranate seeds.
Notes:
- Dark meat works best for this, but you can certainly make it with white meat as well.
- Like all great Holiday dishes, you can make this several days in advance and it only gets better when reheated. It also freezes well, just leave off the fresh garnish until right before serving. (And yes, if you really don’t want to cave to culinary social pressure, you can make this recipe the old-fashioned way.)
- This recipe can easily be doubled.
- Aleppo pepper is a mild chili flake with a deep red color and a savory, fruity flavor. You can find it, along with tamarind paste and pomegranate molasses at Middle Eastern stores, Whole Foods or online.
I don’t have an Insta Pot. How can I convert the Georgian Chicken recipe without an Insta Pot please?
You can absolutely make this recipe without an instant pot. The cooking time will be slightly longer, of course. Follow the same directions to season chicken, brown the chicken, remove and cook onions; then instead of using a pressure cook setting on an instant pot, add your liquid and braise on the stovetop. The author gives specific instructions in step 4 and 5 that should be helpful for cooking time.
Can you use skinless boneless chicken breast on the stove
You can, but they can much more easily dry out. I might try instead chicken breasts with the skin on, or boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
How can I cook this in my slow cooker???