Instructions: Dried ground pomegranate seeds give a lemony taste to dishes and help to tenderise meats. Substitute lemon juice.

The pomegranate is an ancient fruit and has been a symbol of plenty and prosperity from the earliest times. Pomegranate trees and the fruit itself adorn miniature paintings from Indias Mughal era. Native to Iran Afghanistan and Baluchistan it now grows throughout the tropics and subtropics. The pomegranate season in India is a gourmets delight. Rows of shiny red fruit some as big as a grapefruit fill stalls and chilled ruby red pomegranate juice is served as an aperitif in the burnished autumn evenings. As with many other indian fruits the pomegranate is used in its entirety the skin seeds and flesh being all eaten in one way or another.

How they grow
The deciduous pomegranate tree grows to a height of 58m and bears glossy leaves vivid scarlet flowers and fruits shiny red to pink in colour crowned by a calyx. When opened angular seeds can be seen inside the translucent red or pink flffh. It is these seeds that are eaten. The fruits are hand picked towards the middle of October when they are ripe and burnt red in colour. The seeds with the flesh are separated by hand from the rind and are sundried for 1015 days to make anardana.

Appearance and taste
Although they are called pomegranate seeds in English anardana actually comprlses the dried seeds with the flesh of the pomegranate. Reddishbrown sticky and hard anardana tends to form clumps when whole but when powdered assumes the texture of dried tea leaves. Anardarna has a sour smell and a dry taste with a note of astringency.

Buying and storing
Available as whole seeds or h powdered form arrardana is used so sparingly that it is not worth buying large amounts. Buy dark wine coloured seeds or branded powder.

Medicinal and other uses
The seeds are supposed to be soothing to the stomach while the pulp is good for the heart and stomach. The rind and the skin of the fruit are sun dried powdered and mixed with honey to cure diarrhoea and dysentery. Pomegranate juice is a natural face mask its astringency and acidity being beneficial for oily skin.

Culinary uses
Used in north indian cookery anardana adds tang to chutneys curries stuffings vegetables and lentils. Punjabi cookery relies on anardana for flavouring pulses like chickpeas. In India pomegranate seeds are sprinkled on yoghurt raitas and sprouted pulses as a pretty garnish.

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