Recently I ate pomegranate in Kerala, India. Ate and ate it. It was so very sweet.
I have also seen a lot of pomegranate recipes on blogs recently.
I wondered - have I underestimated this red leathery fruit for all these years? Buying it for decoration but, dreaming it was bitter-sour, never cut into it.
Maybe once I remember throwing it into the juicer with other, sweeter fruit.
In Kerala, the pomegranates were beautiful. The salads and side serves featuring the bright red globules were wonderful.
So when they appeared in my green grocers recently I bought some. Tonight, I cut one in half, then quarters. Dug out those slippery, juicy, staining red globules. Made a wonderful mound in the middle of my plate.
Picked one up. Put it in my mouth.
Spat it out. Phw! Phw!
It was bitter. Sour and bitter. The seed in the centre was HARD.
It was horrid.
What on earth makes so much difference? Why does Australia have horrid pomegranates?
Banana and Pomegranate Salad
My posts are all dishes that I have cooked, or have been cooked in my kitchen. Today is a rare exception. This is a dish that I had in Kerala, but which I cannot reproduce in my kitchen due to the horridness of our local pomegranates.
Source : inspired by my visit to Kerala
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 0 mins
Serves: 4 - 6 people, depending how you use it
ingredients
1 pomegranate
2 firm but ripe bananas
1 - 2 Tblspn lime juice
1 Tbslpn jaggery
pinch black salt or sea salt
shredded coconut
method
Remove the luscious seeds from the pomegranate and arrange them in the centre of a plate.
Toast the shredded coconut carefully in a heavy frying-pan over a medium low heat, not allowing it to burn.
Slice the peeled bananas attractively and arrange around the edge of the plate. Drizzle with the lime juice, sugar and the salt.
Sprinkle with the toasted coconut and serve immediately.
So wonderfully attractive, though.
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Read some More:
My Kitchen World has two pomegranate posts - a Chatpat Pomegranate, and a Green Gram and Pomegranate Salad.
Possibly Related Posts:
Other Posts:
13 responses so far ↓
Maninas // March 16, 2008 at 10:10 am
I think the pomegranate you had was just not ripe enough. are they grown in australia, too? actually, i don’t see why they shouldn’t be. i’d say, give them another go!
we grow them in croatia, too. i love them. eating them is kind of meditational - you have to devote your time to them only when you’re doing it, and it is a slow thoughtful, careful process. i say meditational because it’s relaxing. my roommate and i used to make a kind ritual out of eating them. we used to peel it and eat it as we chatted… slowly…
thanks for evoking this nice memory in me!
Hi Maninas, I am not sure about ripeness - I have a feeling it is to do with the varieties grown here. But I will do some more experimentation. So glad to have evoked such lovely memories for you.
Have you eaten them in the UK? (See Amberjee’s comments below.) Are they edible where you are?
chiffOnade // March 16, 2008 at 11:09 am
I wouldn’t eat a pomegranate grown in Australia that’s for sure.
Louise
Clearwater, Florida
Hi Louise. Maybe eating them in India would be better for you.
amberjee // March 16, 2008 at 4:15 pm
you might be right - i thought i hated pomegranate until i went to india and then blissfully ate it every day. haven’t tried it since though. i’ll see if i can track down one in london (probably flown in from god knows where - WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE AIR MILES!) and let you know the verdict.
I am glad that it is not only my experience. Maybe it is an Adelaide thing? I look forward to hearing what they are like in London. Maninas recalls them being wonderful in Croatia.
Aparna // March 16, 2008 at 5:27 pm
This is one fruit that is abundantly available all over Kerala. They’re really so sweet and juicy, aren’t they?
They are heavenly in a salad or just by themselves.
They were such a surprising delight. And to see large bowls of the seeds so visually wonderful.
toabuckets // March 16, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Pomegranets are native to southern Spain. Granada is the spanish word for pomegranet. The city of Granada was a center of Moorish civilization until 1492. Eating pomegranets in Granada should be on the list of those “100 things to do before you die”.
Mmm. I am certainly going to put that one on my list of “Must Does”. It sounds amazing.
I thought Pomegranate/Pomegranet(e) (I found there are several spellings) was native to the India, but it seems it is grown very widely. Wikipedia says
So very widely grown! And appears that it is just the beginning of the season here - I will try again next month and see whether the fruit has improved !
Thanks for your amazing information.
Ginny // March 17, 2008 at 1:34 am
Your photos are beautiful, at least! I love pomegranates but we also have trouble getting good ones and you really have to pay for it too!
Thanks for your wonderful comments - yes, despite being so bitter, they look so wonderful.
rachel // March 17, 2008 at 2:40 am
Ahh i Love themm too..especially in salsas with mango and papaya…
nice pics of the arils
Hi rachel, I can just imagine them in salsas. And the colour against mango and papaya would be wonderful.
misslionheart // March 17, 2008 at 7:38 am
My Mum would give us half a pomegranate each to myself and three younger brothers. We’d eat it with a pin.
Happy days!
With a pin? Wow. I can just imagine all of the juice running down your chins.
Lucy // March 17, 2008 at 8:37 am
Oh, I agree. I spat out the bitter seeds myself a month ago. So ver disappointing.
Still, beautiful jewels you have there in those shots.
I read this morning that your heatwave has an end in sight. Phew…
Oh, thank goodness that it is not only Adelaide.
The heatwave (above 38C for 11 days straight and above 35C for 17 days straight - and today was the hottest at 41.5) is about to come to an end - well, that means the temperature will be below 35. For a day or two still hot, but not SO hot. Strangely, after so long, I am used to the temperature and did not feel at all hot today. Maybe tomorrow I will feel cold?
I have a post planned for tomorrow - maybe you might like to watch for it. I heard that Melbourne has been hot too - 40C on the weekend?
Squirt // March 17, 2008 at 8:56 am
Pomegranates are life
Mmm, Squirt, you must love them a lot.
Seena // March 17, 2008 at 3:48 pm
This one has lots of wonderful health benefits, now I have one syrup, so it is easy to use…
Hi Seena, yes I have been reading about the marvellous properties of pomegranate. They really are a health tonic. I have no heard of pomegranate syrup before, but will keep an eye out for it now. Does it taste good?
Suzana // March 17, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Pomegranates are easily available (when in season) in Portugal and usually very sweet. I love them both in salads and desserts.
I really must look for them now, next time I am in Europe.
Arun Shanbhag // March 31, 2008 at 10:48 am
Beautiful pics of pomegrante seeds! Love them;
On my last visit to India in Nov, I noticed the pomegrantes in mumbai we actually imported from Kabul, Afghanistan. These were smaller and ruby red! … and I felt good to get something delicious from Afghanistan 9and support their economy).
I never thought! Afghanistan, amazing. So very sweet - I loved them.
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