I love pomegranate juice and love cooking savory foods with it!

Here, the juice is reduced down to a sauce and mixed with sweet, tangy pomegranate molasses and smoky chili powder for a very unique tasting chicken dish. Pomegranate molasses is available at gourmet food shops, Middle Eastern grocery stores and online.

You could also serve this chicken alongside a quinoa or wheat-berry salad. I just happen to have an affinity for jasmine rice—especially when paired with a sweet and savory meal.

I hope you guys love this easy weeknight meal! Leftovers taste even better the next day.

Pomegranate Chicken with Jasmine Rice

Try this pomegranate chicken recipe for a savory and sweet dinner idea. Food blogger Jenna Weber shares her inspiration for this unique tasting dish in a full post on the Fresh Tastes blog.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lbs chicken thighs
• 2 tsp oil
• 1 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ tsp smoked chili powder (or regular chili powder if you can’t find smoked)
• 2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
• minced fresh parsley for serving
• cooked jasmine rice for serving

Directions

1. Heat the oil over high heat in a large sauté pan or cast iron skillet. Once hot, add the chicken and brown on all sides (this will take about five minutes). Remove chicken with tongs and transfer to a plate. Set aside.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, sautéing until fragrant---thirty seconds should do it. Then, deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar. Cook for another minute or so until most, if not all, of the vinegar has been cooked off.
3. Add the pomegranate juice, molasses and chili powder. Bring to a simmer and cook until mixture has reduced by about half. Slowly drizzle in the cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and water), whisking constantly.
4. Once the pomegranate mixture has reduced and is relatively thick, add back in the chicken thighs and finish cooking in the sauce.
5. Serve chicken with sauce over a bed of fluffy jasmine rice with parsley on top.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Jenna Weber is half of the Fresh Tastes blog team. She graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in 2008 and, since then, has worked as a pastry chef, bread baker and freelance food editor. Currently, Jenna blogs full-time on EatLiveRun.com where her delicious daily recipes and quirky culinary musings appeal to thousands. She lives in Northern California and, when not in the kitchen, can usually be found on her yoga mat.