Anardana Substitutes, Ranked by the Job the Sourness Is Doing

Out of anardana and the recipe wants that tart pomegranate edge? Anardana is pomegranate seed dried with its juicy pulp still attached, and food writer Susan Jung describes its flavor as deeper and stronger than fresh pomegranate, with an astringent note, and says it’s used sparingly.¹ The right swap depends on the form your recipe needs: amchur for a dry powder, tamarind for a sauce, sumac for a red finishing sprinkle. Each one brings the sourness, none brings all of anardana’s dark, fruity character, and if you need whole seeds for crunch, you can make your own.

Quick answer

How the ratios on this page are labeled

Every ratio carries one of four labels.

• Computed: based on a measurable physical relationship.
• Attributed: a named source publishes this ratio. We quote it as theirs.
• Disputed: named sources give different answers to the same swap. You get each one, side by side.
• Method: our starting point, based on how the two compare. Taste and adjust.

There’s a good reason to start low with any of them: anardana itself varies in sourness. Studies of wild Himalayan pomegranate, the traditional raw material, find its acidity differs from one collection of trees to the next,² so two packs of anardana may not be equally sour. Even a recipe’s amount is only a guide.

If you need dry sourness

In dry rubs, flatbread stuffings and dry chickpea dishes, you want acidity without liquid.

1. Amchur (mango powder)

Amchur is unripe mango, peeled, sliced, dried and ground. Its taste is subtle and resin-like.³ Like anardana, it’s a dried, powdered fruit acid, so it drops into the same dishes without changing their texture. Where it falls short: it has none of anardana’s dark color or deep fruitiness, and it’s pale instead of red.

Check the label: India’s standard for amchur rules out added salt and starch,⁴ but blends sold outside India don’t have to follow it.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half as much amchur as the anardana called for, taste, and add more.

2. Sumac

See below. It works in dry dishes too, and adds color.

If you need dark, fruity sourness in a sauce

In curries, braises and chutneys, a liquid souring agent is fine, and you can get closer to anardana’s depth.

1. Tamarind

A 2016 study describes ripe tamarind’s appeal as its “acidic sweetness.”⁵ That sweet-sour mix and its dark brown color are why it stands in well for anardana in a sauce. It’s much stronger than amchur, too.³

Where it falls short: tamarind tastes like tamarind, not pomegranate, and it adds liquid. Its strength varies, and sour varieties are the sharpest,⁵ so taste a little of yours before you measure.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half as much tamarind paste as the anardana called for, add it in the last stage of cooking, taste, and add more.

2. Pomegranate molasses

Bottled pomegranate molasses is the closest flavor match of all, since it actually tastes of pomegranate. It’s a thick syrup, so expect some sweetness and a little liquid.

Ratio (Method): Start with a small spoonful, stir it into the sauce near the end, and taste before adding more.

If you need a sour, red finish

Sumac

Sumac is a dark red powder, tart and sour with slightly astringent overtones.⁶ That astringency is something it shares with anardana, and its deep red color makes it the best match for looks. It’s added to salads or served with minced meat for a lemony taste.

Where it falls short: sumac is lemony, not dark and fruity, and the ground spice is often mixed with salt.⁶ Check the label before you salt the dish.

Ratio (Method): Start with about half as much sumac as the anardana called for and add to taste. It’s best sprinkled on at the end.

If the recipe wants whole seeds

Some recipes use whole anardana for crunch and little bursts of sourness. No powder or paste can do that. Your only real substitute is anardana you make yourself.

Making anardana at home

Anardana is made by drying the seeds with their pulp. Traditionally they were spread on roofs and sun-dried for 10 to 15 days, until the seeds turn reddish brown.² Faster methods have been published, and they don’t agree:

A home oven isn’t a cabinet dryer, so treat these as guides and make sure the seeds are fully dry before you store them. For storage, a Himachal Pradesh study found anardana held its quality better refrigerated in vacuum-sealed laminated pouches.⁹

Expect homemade anardana to be less sour than the traditional stuff. The traditional raw material is the small wild pomegranate of the Himalayan foothills, which researchers credit with a higher acid content,⁹ not the big fruit sold in most supermarkets. Cultivated pomegranates can work: one 2018 study screened promising cultivated lines for anardana.⁷

Ratio (Method): Use the recipe’s amount, then taste. If your fruit was sweet, you may need a little amchur or lemon to bring the sourness up.

If nothing else is on hand

Lemon juice

Lemon juice brings plain sourness and liquid, with no fruit depth or color.⁸

Ratio (Method): Add a little at the end of cooking, taste, and add more. Don’t use it in a dry rub or a stuffing that needs to stay dry.

What isn’t known

• We didn’t find a published drying time or temperature for a home oven.

Related

• Anardana
• Mango powder (amchur) and mango powder substitutes
• Sumac, sumac substitutes and za’atar
• Chaat masala, kokum and loomi
• Too much tamarind? How to fix a too-sour dish

Footnotes

1. Susan Jung, “How to use dried pomegranate seeds, or anardana”, South China Morning Post, 2025. scmp.com · Publication ↩

2. Bakshi et al., “Studies on variability in physico-chemical traits and multiplication of Daru (wild pomegranate) collections”, Indian Journal of Horticulture, 2014. journal.iahs.org.in · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²

3. Gernot Katzer, “Mango”, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩ ↩²

4. IS 13242:1991, Amchur, Raw Mango (Mangifera indica Linn) Powder, Specification, Bureau of Indian Standards. law.resource.org · Standard ↩

5. Ayala-Silva et al., “Pomological and physicochemical characterization of Tamarindus indica (tamarind) grown in Florida”, Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico, 2016. revistas.upr.edu · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²

6. Gernot Katzer, “Sumac (Rhus coriaria L.)”, Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages. gernot-katzers-spice-pages.com · Reference work ↩ ↩²

7. Kaute et al., “Evaluation of promising lines of pomegranate for preparation of anardana”, Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, 2018. phytojournal.com · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²

8. “Anardana”, CooksInfo. cooksinfo.com · Reference work ↩ ↩²

9. “Evaluation of Wild Pomegranate for the Development of Anardana in Himachal Pradesh”, doctoral thesis, Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, 2018. krishikosh.egranth.ac.in · Peer-reviewed ↩ ↩²

Also drawn on

• Pharmacological and Antioxidant Activities of Rhus coriaria L. (Sumac) (Alsamri et al.), Antioxidants 10(1):73, 2021, MDPI. mdpi.com