Narsharab
An Azerbaijani sauce of 100 percent pomegranate juice slowly reduced to a thick ruby syrup and seasoned with warm spices like cinnamon, coriander, and basil. Its name means pomegranate wine; traditionally unsweetened and tart, it is served with grilled meat and fish.
Ingredients
- 1000 mlpomegranate juice
- ¼ tspcinnamon
- ½ tspground coriander
- ½ tspdried basil
- 1 wholebay leaf
- ¼ tspblack pepper
- ½ tspsalt
Method
- Pour the 100 percent pomegranate juice into a wide saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
- Reduce slowly, without a hard boil, for about 45 to 55 minutes, until the juice has cooked down by roughly two-thirds.
- Add the cinnamon, ground coriander, dried basil, bay leaf, black pepper, and salt, and simmer 5 minutes more.
- Check the texture: the syrup should coat the back of a spoon. Pull it off the heat slightly looser than you want, as it thickens as it cools.
- Remove the bay leaf and any whole spices, or strain the sauce.
- Cool and bottle in sterilised jars; keep in the refrigerator. Serve with grilled meat and fish, as a marinade, or instead of vinegar in salads.
FAQ
Molasses is simply reduced juice, often sweetened. Narsharab is seasoned with spices (cinnamon, coriander, basil) and is traditionally unsweetened, so it is more sour and savory.
The classic is unsweetened; narsharab is meant to be sour. Sweeten only a little if the juice is very sharp, but then it moves closer to molasses.
Traditionally the fresh seeds are pressed. At home it is easier to take good 100 percent pomegranate juice with no additives and reduce it.
When the syrup coats the back of a spoon. Take it off slightly before that point, as it thickens markedly while cooling; overcooked, it turns sticky and a little bitter.
With meat and especially fish (the classic is grilled sturgeon), with shashlik and lyulya kebab; as a marinade; or a few drops instead of vinegar in vegetable salads.
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