Anardana

Glossy red beads fall out by the thousands, encased in what looks like a lacquered jewellery box. A pomegranate is as ornamentally beautiful as it is delicious.

The fruit has its origins in the region which spans Persia all the way to India and has existed for millennia BC.

During the Moorish period, the southern Spanish city of Granada was renamed after the pomegranate and still today it is the emblem on the city's flags. Spanish conquerors took the pomegranate to South America and later California.

In the subcontinent the fruit is used extensively in sweet and spicy salads, as juice, a decorative garnish and to add a finishing touch to yoghurt raita. The seeds of the pomegranate, called anardana are used in cooking.