The Dry Anardana

One such wonder spice in the Indian kitchen is the pomegranate seed or anardana. The Dry Anardana or Pomegrenate Seeds are
the dried seeds with flesh of pomegranate fruit.
The pomegranate is as rich in its 4000 year old history as it is intexture, color and flavor.
The rich, sweet, tangy flavor of the seeds (known as arils) is well worth the effort it takes to peel through the rind. Once you pick through the honey-comb like skin, you can either eat the seeds fresh, or make juices and sauces or add the arils to salad dressings or use as a food garnish. Not only do the pomegranate seeds taste great, these tiny, red, pearls are high in Vitamin C and potassium. They also provide a great source of fiber, are low in calories, and are considered as one of the super-foods on the planet!
We use an Indian variety of pomegranate called daru that produces a very sour tasting seed known as anardana seeds. These particular seeds are widely used for their sweet-sour taste in Indian and Iranian cooking. It adds flavor to vegetables and legumes, and is also used as a food preservative. In Middle Eastern cuisine the fresh seeds are used for accentuating dishes such as salads and dips. The dried anardana pips can also be used as an alternative for raisins in desserts, salad toppings and in other sweet treats. Or you can grind the roasted seeds and use as an excellent flavoring agent. Generally the anardana seeds are roasted and then ground to powder form.
Pomegranate Seeds (Anardana) are used as a souring agent in Indian cooking in a similar manner to Tamarind, Kokum and Amchur. The ground anardana is also used, which results in a deeper flavoring in dishes.
Anardana is available whole dried and powder form. The seeds are dried and can be purchased as a spice Buy anardana powder for easy use. How about trying to add anardana powder to Indian spiced chickpeas.
Roast Anardana and then powder and use as needed or even store the powder in an airtight container in refrigerator.