How to use pomegranate sauce to make your dish even tastier

Pomegranate dressing is a delicious product of oriental origin, known under the exotic name “narsharab”. Pomegranate sauce is used by chefs from around the world. It is most popular in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, and Asian countries. Ripe pomegranate sauce goes well with a variety of foods, making its taste more pronounced and refined. It is prepared according to special recipes using fresh fruit juice, aromatic spices and other ingredients.

What dishes do you add pomegranate sauce to?

Narsharab sounds like “pomegranate wine.” Most often, the sauce is associated with Azerbaijani and Georgian cuisines. It provides food with a pleasant sourness, stimulates appetite, and eliminates the specific taste of some foods. Narsharab is highly valued for giving dishes a more noble and sophisticated “sound.”

Dressing is used to improve and diversify the taste:

• pork;
• lamb;
• beef;
• veal;
• Chicken;
• kebab;
• liver;
• fish dishes;
• seafood;
• legumes;
• pasta;
• soups;
• salads;
• vegetable stew.

Pomegranate sauce is often used as a marinade. It is added when creating cocktails, ice cream, and oriental sweets. Azerbaijanis and Georgians often eat narsharab with ordinary bread, crackers or lavash.

What can't be combined with

Pomegranate sauce is considered a universal dressing. It will make almost any dish tastier, but you need to use this concentrated product correctly.

When using narsharab, one should take into account its rich properties. It is recommended to add sauce to food little by little. This will preserve the taste and aroma of all components present. If you use dressing in excessive quantities, the taste of other products will be muffled and weakened. By consuming it too often and in large quantities, you can harm your own body.

Best combinations with other spices

The classic recipe for making narsharab includes a small amount of ingredients. This is pomegranate juice, sugar and salt.

Other methods of creating a spicy sauce are also widely used, according to which the following is combined with the main ingredient:

• black pepper;
• cloves;
• cinnamon;
• basil;
• cilantro;
• coriander;
• garlic;
• citric acid.

There are also recipes that include red wine, chopped walnuts, citrus juice, and other additives.

Benefit for health

The product not only has a wonderful taste and bright aroma. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on the entire human body.

The sauce has the following positive properties:

• normalizes hemoglobin levels in the blood;
• activates metabolism;
• stimulates the work of the heart muscle;
• improves the condition of blood vessels;
• stabilizes blood pressure;
• accelerates the absorption of iron;
• strengthens the immune system;
• removes waste, toxins, heavy metals;
• prevents skin pigmentation;
• heals the genitourinary system;
• keeps the organs of vision in good shape;
• normalizes stool, relieves constipation;
• prevents the development of cancer.

Sauce made from pomegranate fruits has an antiparasitic effect, provides an anthelmintic effect, and helps avoid the development of anemia. When used regularly, the dressing helps replenish the lack of vitamins and minerals, improve the quality of sleep, relieve depression and neuroses, and increase libido in both sexes.

Composition of the gas station

Pomegranate sauce is a natural product with a rich composition, containing a variety of valuable compounds. It is thanks to its richness that it has a positive effect on various organs and systems of the body.

The calorie content of the dressing is 270 Kcal, and the amount of fat does not exceed 0.3 g. This allows you to consume it without fear of gaining excess weight. Those who adhere to dietary rules should use this product instead of vinegar and soy sauce.

Pomegranate dressing contains:

Narsharab is also rich in antioxidants, phytoncides, tannins, catechins, anthocyanins, and tannins. It contains proteins, carbohydrates, fats, dietary fiber, cellulose, and starch.

Smell and taste of spices

Pomegranate sauce is a product that looks like a viscous viscous liquid.The dressing has a characteristic dark red color, often approaching a brown tint.

Narsharab has a pleasant taste, in which light sourness predominates, there is a slight sweetness and a subtle bitterness. The product has a pronounced oriental aroma with spicy notes. Such characteristics allow it to be used in both salty and sweet or other dishes.

Cooking methods

There are several options for making pomegranate sauce. Many people prefer to make the dressing according to the classic recipe. Lovers of unusual taste sensations use original methods.

Helpful advice! To get narsharab with an attractive dark color, you should choose fruits with grains of rich burgundy color. The sauce will be less expressive if pink berries are used.

Classic way

To prepare the dressing for this recipe, you will need to have 10 ripe pomegranates, sugar and salt on hand. The total operating time is no more than 45 minutes.

Stages of creating the sauce:

• peel the pomegranates, remove all partitions;
• Place the grains in a saucepan and place over low heat;
• Mash the mixture with a wooden spoon until juice appears;
• pour the separated liquid into another container;
• place the pan over low heat, adding sugar (1 cup per 5 cups of juice);
• stir the product with a wooden spatula, avoiding boiling;
• continue cooking until the consistency of rare sour cream is obtained;
• At the end of cooking, add a little salt.

To check if the sauce is ready, scoop out a small amount and drop it onto a plate. If all steps were followed correctly, the drop will acquire a consistency reminiscent of jam.After this, the sauce must be transferred to a glass container or gravy boat and covered with a lid.

With added cloves

Ingredients for preparing the dressing:

• 2 large pomegranates (each weighing about 1 kg);
• 10 cubes of refined sugar;
• half a teaspoon of coarse salt;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 3 carnation stars;
• 2-3 pinches of ground black pepper.

Wash the fruits, remove the seeds and squeeze out as much juice as possible. Pour the liquid into a saucepan, add sugar and place over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spatula.

After 10 minutes, add garlic, cloves and pepper to the container. Bring to a light boil and keep the container on the stove for at least 20 minutes. When the mixture has boiled down by half, strain it through cheesecloth or a nylon sieve and distribute into glass vessels.

With red wine and basil

To prepare narsharab in this way, you will need:

• combine 200 ml of pomegranate juice and 300 ml of sweet red wine in a saucepan;
• add 3 chopped garlic cloves, a little dry basil, sugar, salt, ground red and black pepper;
• bring the mixture to a boil and cook over low heat for another 20 minutes;
• add ½ teaspoon of starch diluted with a small amount of wine;
• Continue stirring until the aromatic substance thickens.

The prepared dressing is distributed into clean glass containers. Use chilled.

Contraindications for using the sauce

The use of pomegranate dressing is contraindicated for certain disorders:

• pathologies of the digestive system (gastritis, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, increased stomach acidity);
• chronic constipation;
• hemorrhoidal disease;
• diabetes mellitus

It is not recommended to use narsharab for women during pregnancy and breastfeeding. This sauce is also contraindicated for people with weakened tooth enamel - the acids contained in the product can further worsen its condition.

If these restrictions exist, you should minimize the use of pomegranate dressing or completely abandon it. If you have any contraindications, consult a nutritionist - a specialist will help you determine whether you can include the sauce in your diet or whether you should completely remove it from your diet.

Also, people undergoing treatment with certain types of medications should not take pomegranate dressing. It is not advisable to combine the sauce with statins (the side effects of such drugs may be more pronounced). In addition, you cannot combine it with medications that lower blood pressure (the hypotonic effect will be more pronounced and will cause a deterioration in well-being).

How to choose good quality pomegranate sauce

It must be remembered that you will be able to get benefits for the body and enjoy the bright taste properties only if you use a high-quality product.

To purchase a sauce that will meet all expectations, you must consider the following recommendations:

• buy the product at specialized points of sale or in reliable online stores that guarantee that the product has all the declared characteristics;
• choose a dressing containing all-natural pomegranate juice;
• Always check the expiration date.

Carefully look at the markings on the sauce container. If Nar Ekşisi is written on the bottle, the product is as natural as possible, containing only pomegranate juice and spices.The designation Nar ekşili sos indicates that the contents of the bottle contain a certain amount of fructose-glucose syrup.

Note! Narsharab sauce is quite expensive. This is due to the following feature - to get 300 ml of dressing, you need to consume at least 1 kg of pomegranate seeds.

The lowest quality product is considered to be sauce containing citric acid. Experts recommend refraining from purchasing such a gas station. In some cases, you can find home-made narsharab. It is often labeled as Ev yapımı Nar Ekşisi. This option is most valued and meets the basic requirements for this product.

Where and how to store

Pomegranate dressing from reliable manufacturers has a fairly long shelf life. The product is able to remain in good condition even in an open container and at room temperature. Moreover, it does not deteriorate for several months.

Narsharab sauce can be stored in the refrigerator without any changes for a whole year. To do this you need:

• keep the dressing in a dark glass container with a tightly closed lid;
• store the product at a temperature of 5-15 degrees.

It is important to know! Homemade pomegranate sauce does not have a long shelf life. After opening the package, these products should be consumed within one month.

Under no circumstances should narsharab be frozen. It needs to be shaken periodically. Quite often, a slight sugar deposit appears at the bottom of the dressing container. This is considered normal and should not cause the slightest concern.

If you are planning to include narsharab in your diet, but have never used it before, be sure to make sure that the product is well tolerated. This recommendation is due to the following feature - pomegranate is one of the rather strong allergens and can cause unwanted reactions in the body. Before adding it to a savory or sweet dish, taste a few drops. If after 20-30 minutes your health remains normal, feel free to start a full gourmet meal.