Shirin Qatogh is a sweet-and-sour Gilani stew built around chicken, dried apricots, plums, raisins and saffron. The fruit softens into the savoury chicken stock, while fried onions and tomato paste give the sauce enough depth to keep it from tasting like dessert.
Known as Shirin Qatogh stew, Gilani sweet plum stew or Gilan apricot stew, this northern Iranian dish can be adjusted from distinctly tart to gently sweet. The useful rule is to add sugar only after the fruit and lemon juice have cooked together; otherwise it is easy to make the stew sweeter than intended.
Ingredients for Shirin Qatogh
- 5 pieces chicken breast or thigh
- 5 medium onions
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dried apricot halves (qaisi)
- ½ cup dried stew plums
- 1 cup raisins
- Brewed saffron, to taste
- Sugar, to taste
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, plus more if needed
- Turmeric, salt and black pepper
- A small pinch of cinnamon, optional
- Neutral oil for frying
Qaisi are dried apricot halves, not leaves. Choose fruit that is pliable and clean rather than heavily sugared. Tart golden plums make a sharper stew; sweeter prunes produce a rounder sauce and usually need less added sugar.
Prepare the chicken and fruit
Put the chicken in a saucepan with enough water to come partway up the pieces. Add one quartered onion, a pinch each of turmeric, salt and pepper, then bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook until the chicken is nearly done. Keep the cooking liquid: it becomes the base of the Shirin Qatogh rather than being discarded.
While the chicken cooks, rinse the dried apricots and plums separately. Soak them in cool water for 20 to 30 minutes, then drain. Rinse the raisins and leave them to drain well. Soaking removes grit and helps the larger fruit cook evenly, but a long soak can make it disintegrate in the pot.
Build the fried-onion base
Slice the remaining onions. Heat a thin layer of oil in a wide pan and cook the onions over medium heat, stirring often, until deep gold. Add a little turmeric during the final minute. Remove most of the onions and keep them nearby.
In the same pan, fry the drained plums and apricots for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them gently so they pick up the onion-flavoured oil without tearing. Lift them out, then brown the cooked chicken briefly on both sides. This short frying step adds colour and helps the pieces hold together during the final simmer.
Cook the Gilani sweet plum stew
Arrange the chicken, fried apricots and plums in a broad pot. Add the reserved chicken stock a little at a time; the ingredients should not be swimming. Bring the liquid to a quiet simmer, add the fried onions and pour in the brewed saffron.
Cover partly and cook over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes. Move the fruit carefully rather than stirring hard. The sauce should reduce gradually as the flavours come together, while the chicken finishes cooking and remains intact.
Balance the sour and sweet flavours
Fry the tomato paste in a teaspoon of oil until its raw smell fades and the colour deepens. Stir it into the stew with the lemon juice, black pepper and enough salt to sharpen the other flavours.
Taste the sauce before adding sugar. Add it one teaspoon at a time, allowing each spoonful to dissolve before tasting again. Shirin Qatogh does not have one fixed sweetness: some Gilani households keep it tart, others serve it smooth and mildly sweet. What matters is balance among the fruit, saffron, tomato and chicken stock.
Add the raisins without making them tough
Warm a small amount of oil in a clean pan. Add the drained raisins and optional cinnamon, stirring for just 1 to 2 minutes, until the raisins look plump and glossy. Do not fry them until dark.
For raisins throughout the stew, fold them in during the final 5 minutes. For a cleaner appearance and a fresher fruit texture, keep them separate and spoon them over the finished dish. Both approaches preserve the original Gilan recipe.
How to tell when Shirin Qatogh is ready
The finished sauce should be glossy and concentrated enough to coat a spoon, with only a modest amount of liquid around the chicken. The apricots and plums should be tender but still recognisable. If the sauce is thin, remove the lid and simmer gently; if it tightens too quickly, add a splash of the reserved stock.
Serve Shirin Qatogh with steamed Persian rice. Saffron rice is especially good here because it echoes the saffron in the stew without adding more sweetness.
Traditional variations
- Chicken breast is common, but thighs stay especially tender during the final simmer.
- Duck, goose or turkey can replace the chicken; their cooking times and the amount of rendered fat will differ.
- A meat-free version can be made with more apricots, plums and onions, using water or a mild vegetable stock.
- For a more tart northern stew, reduce or omit the sugar and use extra lemon juice or a pierced dried lime.
- The chicken can be cooked and browned separately, then served beside the fruit stew rather than simmered in it.
This Shirin Qatogh recipe works best when each component keeps some character: browned chicken, soft but whole fruit, properly fried onions and a saffron sauce that is sweet enough to be inviting but still savoury enough for the main course.
