Skip to content

Anardana substitute

Best substitute

Amchur (Dried Green Mango Powder)

¾ tsp amchur for every 1 tsp anardana powder

Best for chana masala

Different taste

Amchur, dried green mango powder, is the closest dry substitute at 3/4 teaspoon amchur for every 1 teaspoon of anardana powder, though it is sharper and less fruity. For a chana masala or a chutney, 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses per 1 teaspoon anardana is actually closer in flavour because it keeps the fruit, just add it at the end since it is a liquid. In a pinch, lemon juice plus a pinch of sugar works.

Other anardana substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Anardana with ratios

  1. 2Pomegranate Molasses

    Different texture

    1 tsp pomegranate molasses for every 1 tsp anardana powder

    The closest match on actual flavour, because it is the same fruit concentrated.

    What changes

    It is sour, dark, fruity and slightly sweet in exactly the way anardana is. The catch is that it is a syrup, so it adds a little moisture and gloss and cannot be used in a dry spice rub or sprinkled over finished chaat.

    Best for
    chana masala and other gravies, chutneys, marinades, lentil dishes

    Stir it in during the last few minutes of cooking. Boiling it hard dulls the fruit and leaves plain sourness. Reduce any other sweetener in the recipe slightly.

  2. 3Tamarind Paste or Concentrate

    Taste and texture differ

    1 tsp tamarind paste for every 1 tsp anardana powder, adjusted to taste

    Sour, dark and fruity, which covers anardana's job well, but tamarind has a distinctive earthy, almost date-like tang that is instantly recognisable.

    What changes

    A Punjabi chole made with tamarind tastes noticeably more South Indian and less sharp-fruity. Genuinely delicious, just a different dish.

    Best for
    chana masala, chutneys, curries, aloo and chickpea dishes

    Concentrations vary wildly between brands. Start with half the amount, taste, and build up. Thick block tamarind needs soaking and straining first.

  3. 4Lemon Juice Plus A Pinch Of Sugar

    Different taste

    2 tsp lemon juice + a small pinch of sugar for every 1 tsp anardana powder

    The pantry rescue.

    What changes

    It provides the sourness reliably but nothing else, so the dish tastes fresh and citrusy rather than deep and fruity. In a heavily spiced chana masala with garam masala and tomatoes this reads as perfectly acceptable, if a little bright and thin at the finish.

    Best for
    chana masala, vegetable curries, raitas and salads, chaat

    Add it off the heat, at the very end. Lemon juice cooked hard turns dull and slightly bitter. Lime juice works too and is a touch more aromatic.

  4. 5Sumac

    Different taste

    1 ½ tsp sumac for every 1 tsp anardana powder

    An unexpectedly good fit in dry applications.

    What changes

    Sumac is a dried fruit acid, so it behaves the same way anardana does in a rub or a sprinkle, and it has a fruity tartness rather than a purely sharp one. It is milder, so use more, and it brings a resinous, slightly lemony note plus a deep red colour that will show on pale food.

    Best for
    dry rubs, chaat-style sprinkles, roasted potatoes and chickpeas, kebabs

    Not traditional in Indian cooking, but it works because it is doing the same structural job. Best in dry uses rather than in a simmering gravy.

  5. 6Fresh Pomegranate Seeds, With Honest Expectations

    Taste and texture differ

    2 tbsp fresh seeds, crushed, for every 1 tsp anardana powder

    This is the swap people assume will work and it mostly does not, so it is worth saying plainly.

    What changes

    Anardana comes from a sour wild pomegranate and is concentrated by drying, while the fresh seeds in a supermarket punnet are sweet and watery. Crushed fresh seeds add juiciness and a faint tartness but nowhere near enough acidity, so the dish will still taste like it is missing something. Use them for garnish and get your sourness elsewhere.

    Best for
    garnish on chaat, chole or raita, adding pops of texture and colour

    The honest approach is to use fresh seeds on top for looks and add lemon juice or amchur into the dish for the actual sourness.

What is Anardana?

Anardana is Anardana is dried wild pomegranate seed, sold whole as sticky dark red granules or ground into anardana powder, and used in North Indian cooking as a souring spice with a fruity edge.

Cooking tips

  • Anardana's job is sour plus fruity depth. That double role is why it is not interchangeable with plain amchur, which is only sour, or with plain pomegranate seeds, which are only fruity. When you substitute, cover both or the dish will taste either flat or one-dimensionally sharp.
  • If you have whole anardana seeds rather than powder, toast them very briefly in a dry pan until they smell fragrant, then grind. They are sticky, so grinding is easier if you add a teaspoon of the recipe's other whole spices, or a pinch of rice, to the grinder with them.
  • Add anardana or its substitute in the last five to ten minutes of cooking a gravy. Long simmering flattens the fruit character and leaves you with generic sourness, which is precisely what you were paying for the anardana to avoid.
  • It is a normal part of chaat masala, so if you have a jar of chaat masala in the cupboard you already have anardana in diluted form. About 1 1/2 teaspoons of chaat masala substitutes usefully for 1 teaspoon of anardana, but it also brings salt, cumin and black salt, so taste before seasoning further.
  • Whole anardana keeps well but goes sticky and clumpy in humidity. Store it in a sealed jar away from the stove, and grind small amounts as you need them, because the powder loses its fruitiness within a few months.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave anardana out?

You can finish the dish without it, but a chana masala or aloo chaat missing its souring agent tastes noticeably heavy and blunt, as though the seasoning never came together. Add some acid, whatever you have: a squeeze of lemon at the end is a two-second fix and gets you most of the benefit. Where anardana is one spice among many in a large blend, omitting it is genuinely fine.

Is anardana the same as pomegranate seeds from the supermarket?

No, and this is the most common mix-up. Anardana is the dried seed of a specifically sour wild pomegranate, so it is intensely tart. Fresh eating-pomegranate seeds are sweet and juicy. Substituting fresh for dried leaves the dish without its acidity. If you want the dried effect, use amchur or pomegranate molasses instead.

What is the difference between anardana and amchur?

Both are dry souring powders and they are used in overlapping recipes. Amchur, from dried unripe mango, is sharper, more purely acidic and pale. Anardana is fruitier, slightly sweet behind the sourness, and dark reddish-brown. Amchur is the practical substitute, just use a little less and consider adding a pinch of sugar.

Can I use pomegranate juice instead?

Not directly, because bottled juice is sweet and very dilute, so you would need far too much liquid to get the sourness you need and you would end up with a watery, sweet gravy. If juice is all you have, reduce a cup of it down to about two tablespoons of syrup over low heat, then use that like pomegranate molasses.

Does anardana powder need to be cooked?

It does not require cooking and is often sprinkled raw over chaat. In a gravy, add it near the end so it dissolves without losing its fruitiness. If a recipe has you fry it with the other ground spices, keep the heat low and the time short, since the sugars in it scorch faster than plain spices do.

Related substitutes

More spices & herbs substitutes

Need a different ingredient?

Browse the full index, or the rest of this category.

Browse all substitutesMore spices & herbs