Circassian chicken with walnuts

This chicken spread has been perhaps the most surprising recipe that I tested for this book. What first drew my attention to this dish was certainly not its appearance, as it’s a greyish-beige blob, sometimes garnished with a sprinkling of paprika, or walnuts. What it lacks in looks, though, it mightily compensates for in flavour.

What intrigued me was the main ingredients: shredded chicken with heaps of ground walnuts. As an Iranian, the first thing this combination brings to mind