Game Hens With Sumac, Pomegranate and Cardamom Rice Recipe (2024)

Squabs (and Cornish hens) are a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine. I stuff mine with bulgur wheat, pine nuts and raisins with a touch of pomegranate molasses. The recipe appeared in the Times on May 30, 1979, in Patricia Wells' review of my cooking school.

Dear Mr. Tanis: People are right, to mention the unavailability of some spices in less sophisticated places than NY; but don't limit yourself on that respect, please. Mention instead a possible substitute, and/or the taste-effect to look for in our own attempt. Thank you for this and all your other taste broadening recipes.

Are the birds on a rack over the 1/2 water? I'm concerned they would not brown if there's water there ...

Sure you can get the ingredients in a mid-East grocery store or on line but when we have twenty-plus (not this one) list of "exotic" ingredients, it is an outlay one does not want to make for a one-off recipe. Before "accessorizing" myself for such dishes, I must commit myself to be doing a lot of similar dishes in the future or the spice cabinet becomes filled with once-used, and dying spices and condiments.

You may use a rack if you wish, but I don't. I like to have easy access to caramelizing pan juices. Basting the birds frequently--with a paintbrush-- is the key to having them brown beautifully.

The recipe is now corrected. I use 2 -1/2 cups water (or broth) for 2 cups rinsed Basmati rice.

What’s missing from these comments is that it’s a really good recipe. Here in Germany, the Stubenküken (young chicken) was the right size and cooked super juicy according to plan. It was my first prominently sumac dish. Rice was overly plentiful, but great. I suggest people order sumac and pom molasses for Ottolenfhi recipes and times like this. They keep.

It's also worth checking out the inventory at www.nuts.com and price-checking against Amazon and Penzey's. I live in the wilds of upstate NY and rely on mail-order more often than not; they're carrying a lot more than nuts these days and the sumac I got there last week was excellent: fresh, delicious and half the price of Amazon's, for four times as much. Just sayin'.

rumor has it you can use "the internet" to buy such ingredients online.. given the effort you have made to comment "online" tells me you are capable of doing an online search and even (gasp) ordering online.

The problem with this recipe and regrettably many others in the Food section, is the ingredients are not readily available, unless you live in Manhattan and have nothing else to do put search for them. C'mon guys, let's try to be a bit more practical.

Pomegranate molasses is a terrific staple, for many dishes, it's worth seeking it out. Lemon zest is fine for sumac. I'm with you on the "exotic" ingredients; but then I remember when fresh lettuce was exotic in Boston other than in summer. And avocado. And more.

Try Penzeys.com for spices.

it does not say how much liquid to the rice.
am i to believe that this rice cooks without it just with the spices?? what? did i miss the amount of liquid to the rice???

For Sonia, who worried about 2.5 cups of water to 2 cups of basmati rice not being enough - basmati rice takes much less water to cook than other kinds of rice. Indeed, I usually use a 1:1 ratio for basmati rice. The rinsing isn't the important factor, the type of rice is.

would it be fine to stuff these with the rice (making extra) before cooking?

Sorry, this is a dud. The water washes off all seasonings. The cook time is less than half what is necessary. 90 minutes in, no browning at all, no flavor.

I made this dish with pheasant and it was delicious! I did brine the pheasant for an hour because it can be dry but the spice rub and the basting made the breast so succulent. I used toasted, slivered almonds for the crunch because I do not care for pinon.

I made this for two people using two poussins (from D'Artagnan). For two, of course, I'd suggest halving everything including the amount of the water in the roasting pan. I started with Chef Tanis's suggestion to fill the pan with a 1/2-inch of water but about 15 minutes into the roasting, I realized the resulting "sauce" would be too watery. I used a turkey baster to suck out about half the water and the result was terrific. This is a wonderful recipe.

I had a new bag of sumac and all other ingredients but no fancy hens. Used bone-in chicken thighs. Rubbed the salt, cinnamon, sumac, and pepper onto the thighs and let them refrigerate overnight. Followed the rest of the directions starting with skin side down in the oven and just a little water on the bottom of the pan. They were beautifully glazed and brown. Made the rice according to the directions and served with the Ottolenghi spinach date almond salad on this site. Delicious combination.

After having fallen deeply in love with this recipe (which I made twice, exactly following the recipe) I decided I wanted to try it with Salmon. I, again, followed the recipe except I used 4 salmon filets (approximately 2 lbs total) slow-cooking them at 250 for 35 minutes with just 4 Tablespoons of water in the bottom. I basted them 3 times and added another tablespoon or so of water when the bottom was drying out. It was delicious. That rice though! Heavenly.

I used this recipe just for the timing on cooking the cornish game hens and they came out perfect.

1) Made with ingredients as written. So good for rice and poultry.2) Re "Place seasoned birds in a roasting pan...drizzle all over with pomegranate molasses. Turn birds breast-side down and add water to pan to a depth of ½ inch." I placed poussin on rack just above water not in it. 3) Re "... baste birds with pan juices frequently, until well browned." took longer than recipe specified to brown.4) The rice is a keeper for lots of dishes.

I put the salt on the birds 24 hours before baking and let them dry brine uncovered in the fridge. To avoid the need to baste the birds, I brushed on a thin layer of olive oil after drizzling the molasses.Everything turned out delicious! I pair it with a salad dressed with a pomegranate molasses vinaigrette. It made for a very memorable meal!

My hens took much longer to cook. A beautiful dish. Waiting for the birds to finish so haven’t tasted it yet, but it looks and smells wonderful.

What’s missing from these comments is that it’s a really good recipe. Here in Germany, the Stubenküken (young chicken) was the right size and cooked super juicy according to plan. It was my first prominently sumac dish. Rice was overly plentiful, but great. I suggest people order sumac and pom molasses for Ottolenfhi recipes and times like this. They keep.

Oddly unlike other posts, I had all the ingredients! Probably my visits to the local Indian store. I used the spice rub. The little chicks came out dark and crispy. To be honest. Those hens are just too precious for me. Too much knife and fork work. I would keep the spices and put them on regular chicken though.

Follow instructions for rice dish only. The chicken was not cooked well and seasoning was not great.

The rice was nice, especially with the added toasted pine nuts and pomegranate seeds. However, the cooking time for the hens was too little, and the simple dribbling of pomegranate molasses was not enough to imbue flavor and browning - and pan juices too watery. I placed birds on a rack, and then borrowed from a bon appetite recipe by basting the birds with a mixture of pomegranate molasses and honey. Cornish Hens are a novelty not worth the extra cost and lack the savory flavor of chicken