Chicken and pomegranate molasses stew (Middle Eastern-style)

Middle Eastern dishes, especially stews that contain meat and vegetables slowly simmered with spices, hold a very special place in my range of culinary preferences. This one contained sweet potato cubes, beans, turmeric-roasted chicken, wine and pomegranate molasses. Truly delicious and spicy-sour-sweet-sticky tasting.
I didn't label this as "world kitchen" because it's not actually an authentic recipe (with a name of its own and a strict ingredient list and instructions) from that region, but more of a combination made in the style of what usually those recipes are like. For the famous Iranian stew with chicken, walnuts and pomegranate molasses, follow the link to an older post on it here: Khoresht-e-Fesenjan.

Returning to the stew here, it was very nice. Try it when you have the time - it's not complicated to make, it just sits a lot on the stove, but it allows you to tend to other things in the meantime. 
Enjoy.
Recipe adapted from here. 

Last year: Penne alla vodka (Italian-American).
Two years ago: Baby making and no cooking :).



Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1 red chili pepper (or half if you want less heat)
• 5 garlic cloves
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large chicken legs (about 500 g total)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (curcuma)
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 large red onion
• 150 ml dry red wine
• 2-3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses (the salty Middle Eastern type, not the kind used for desserts; ours was Iranian)
• 1 small sweet potato
• 250 g pre-boiled beans (we used red kidney beans from the can)
• 300 ml chicken stock

Get the garlic cloves, peel them, and also get the chili pepper.

Cut the chili pepper and garlic into slices and put them in a mortar and pestle.

Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and crush them into a paste:

When you're done, cut the chicken thighs into halves so you have a total of four pieces. Mix the flour and the turmeric powder and coat the chicken pieces with it. Fry them in the rest of the olive oil.

When they're well fried on both sides (3-4 minutes on each side), remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.

Add the chili-garlic paste in the pan (and the oils left over from the chicken) and gently fry it for 1-2 minutes. Then add the chopped red onion and the thyme.

Fry for 5 minutes or so until the onion is softened. Afterwards, add the wine and let it come to a boil, then add the pomegranate molasses. Mix well to scrape everything on the bottom.

Add the chicken soup, the beans and the sweet potato, cut into cubes:

Also put the chicken pieces back into the pan, making sure they're almost completely covered by liquid (add some water if necessary, in our case it wasn't).

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and let the whole thing cook for about 30 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces on the other side at about half that time.

If when the time is up you feel like the sauce is still too watery, keep it cooking for an extra 5-10 minutes uncovered. In our case it wasn't necessary.
Transfer to serving plates:

Dig in! :)