Description
Anardana is used in Indian and Persian cuisine as a souring agent, much like sumac or amchoor. Slow air drying makes it more molasses-like than fresh pomegranate, so it adds depth of flavor as well as brightness. While other sour spices are best as finishing touches, anardana can enrich a sauce or braising liquid for as long as you like, and it only gets better with time. Slow cooked with chicken legs or lamb, the result is rich and profound.
Many versions of Persian fasenjan (chicken with walnut and pomegranate sauce) rely on anardana for the sauce’s subtleties. When ground, it’s perfect in chutneys, relishes, and spice rubs for meat and seafood, especially those that would benefit from the crunch of its interior seeds. I love it as a quick and easy way to bring new life to blander vegetables like potatoes and cauliflower: Just grind, then roast or steam. It’s similar to pomegranate molasses, but its lower moisture content makes it the choice ingredient for jobs where a syrup would be out of place.
Anardana is magical with other fruits and wintry spices. Think orange peels, cinnamon, and the last of the season’s plums. This is the stuff your marmalade has been waiting for. Its sun-dried flavor makes it a perfect match for nuts, though you may want to strain out the crunchy seeds as too much texture can be too much of a good thing.
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