Fesenjoon (walnut & pomegranate stew)

In a large pot, add vegetable oil and turn heat to medium high.  Add onion and sauté.   Add turmeric and mix until combined.  Continue to cook until lightly brown in color.  Add in the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper.  Cook on both sides to brown.  Add 1 tablespoon of saffron water and enough tap water to cover the chicken.  Bring to a boil and then down to a simmer.  Allow to cook for forty minutes.
While chicken is cooking, place walnuts on a baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 8 to ten minutes.  They should be toasted and aromatic.  Cool and then grind to a pulp in a food processor.  The walnuts should be a paste like consistency.
Once chicken is cooked through, add walnuts to the pot and stir.  Add pomegranate molasses and 1/8 cup of sugar.  If you would like the stew a bit more sweet, add additional sugar.  The stew should have a sweet/sour taste.  Increase heat to medium and cook for an additional twenty minutes to thirty minutes.  The stew should be thick.
Place stew on a serving platter and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top.  Serve with rice.

Allow saffron to steep in the hot water.  Water will turn red and saffron will wilt.  Use as directed above