POMyo! sauce (Pomegranate Yogurt sauce)

I wanted to make a second dipping sauce for my POM dinner party and was racking my brain for ideas... If pomegranates would taste good with milk (milk shakes), and it is not uncommon to use them in yogurt rice - I decided to make a sauce with yogurt base. I also used some spicy mustard to give a zing to it.

Ingredients:
Juice from 2 large POM wonderful Pomegranates about (250 ml)
yogurt - 2 1/2 tbsp
spicy mustard - 1/4 - 1/2 tsp (as per taste)
salt to taste

Method:
Juice arils from 2 large pomegranates. I used my blender to blend the arils and then filtered through a sieve. You can use a citrus juicer or simply use POM wonderful 100% Pomegranate juice.
Heat the juice over medium heat. When it comes to a rolling boil, add salt to taste and simmer until it reduces into a saucy consistency and coats the spoon.Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add yogurt, spicy mustard and more salt if required and whisk together until smooth. Garnish with pomegranate arils.

This sauce is great for dipping chips and veggies too. Read about my POM dinner party recap here.

Those red and green beauties out there in these pictures are called silk chilies (for their silky sweetness, I guess). I found them at my local farmers market and instantly fell in love with them. While photographing the sauce, I just could not resist myself from focusing on them, so here we go!!!

Pomegranate chutney

When I decided to make a dipping sauce out of pomegranate for my POM dinner party that would be versatile enough for dipping and using in Bhel puri, this is what I came up with. I drew my inspiration from tomato ketchup and Indian Tamarind-Date sweet sauce. Since pomegranate has a wonderful sweet tart flavor, it can elegantly replace tomato or tamarind in a sauce. I served it as a condiment with the veggie masala cutlet and in Bhel puri instead of sweet sauce.

Ingredients:
Juice from 4 large POM Wonderful pomegranates (about 500 ml)
Dates - 8 to 10 pitted and soaked in just enough hot water for 4 hours
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Chili powder - 1/4 tsp (or to taste)
Garlic - 3 large cloves, peeled
Ginger - 1 inch piece
salt to taste.


Method:
Juice arils from 4 large pomegranates. I used my blender to blend the arils and then filtered through a sieve. You can use a citrus juicer or simply use POM wonderful 100% Pomegranate juice.
Grind the soaked dates into a smooth paste.
Heat the juice over medium heat. Drop whole garlic cloves and the peeled ginger piece into the juice. When it comes to a rolling boil, add cumin powder, coriander powder, chili powder and salt to taste and simmer until it reduces into a saucy consistency and coats the spoon. Remove the garlic cloves and ginger piece from the sauce using a slotted spoon.
Now, add dates paste, simmer for 2-3 more minutes and remove from heat. The chutney thickens more while cooling.

My guests loved this sauce and were asking me for recipe. Read the POM dinner party recap here.