How to make pomegranate fruit leather – Anar Lavashak

On Apr 6, 2022

Pomegranate fruit leather is one of the most popular and delicious fruit leathers. In Iran, it’s called Anar Lavashak. It has an amazing sour taste. If it’s made with barberry and a little bit of salt, it’s irresistible!

Pomegranate is rich in antioxidants, vitamin K and B6, and Potassium.

In Iran, fruit leather is called Lavashak. The pomegranate seeds are removed, cooked, and turn into a puree. Then, the puree is spread in thin layers and let dry. Making pomegranate Lavashak is easy. However, removing the seeds can be a bit time-consuming. I will teach you an easy trick to it in this post!

How many steps are there for making Anar Lavashak?

As I mentioned before, making Anar Lavashak is pretty easy, and contains 6 general steps:

Removing the seeds
Adding salt
Cooking
Blending and sieving
Cooking and evaporating the excess water
Drying the fruit leather

If you’re in a rush, you can summarize them in 4 steps and skip steps 2 and 3. It means you can remove the seeds, put them in a blender and strain them afterward. Then, cook the puree on the stove until the water vaporizes and the puree thickens.

Steps 2 and 3 are for easier removal of the flesh from the core of the seed.

How to easily remove pomegranate seeds

One of the practical ways to remove the seeds easier and quicker is to soak them in water. After soaking, the skin and the white membrane soften and the seeds can be removed with one small tap. Do as follows:

Wash the pomegranates. Remove the crown with a knife.
Cut each pomegranate in half.
Make a small cut in the middle of each segment for better soaking. Let them soak in cold water for 30 minutes.
Take the pomegranates out of the water one by one. With the handle of a kitchen knife or the back of a spoon, tap on the back of the pomegranates. The seeds will be removed easily this way. A kitchen knife is heavier and therefore a better option for this job, but be careful not to accidentally harm your hand!

Print Recipe

How to make pomegranate fruit leather (Pomegranate Lavashak)

Author: Aloorecipes

Ingredients

2 kg Pomegranate
½ tbsp Salt

Instructions

Remove the pomegranate seeds with the mentioned method.
put the seeds in a pot and add salt. Leave for 3-4 hours until the seeds let out some water. For 1 kilogram of pomegranate, add 1 teaspoon of salt.
Put the pot on the stove and cook the seeds for 30 minutes until they're completely soft, and the flesh can be removed easily by simply touching. Turn the stove off and leave for 1 hour to cool.
Blend the pomegranate seeds with a blender or hand blender.
Put a strainer on another pot. Pour the blended pomegranate seeds into the strainer.
Add pressure using the palm of your hand so that the extract comes out and pours into the pot. Claw the remaining pulps until all the flesh and juice enters the pot underneath, and only the solid cores of the seeds are left.
In the end, you should have a rather thick extract similar to tomato paste.
In a pot, cook the extract on medium heat. When it starts boiling, reduce the heat. Let the water inside evaporate and the contents harden. This step takes 5-10 minutes.
According to your preference, add salt or sugar.
Cover an oven tray with parchment paper. Slightly grease with a pastry brush.
Let the thickened liquid cool. Take two spoonfuls of it and set it aside. Spread the rest on the tray.
Set the oven to the lowest temperature, like 110°C. Leave the door half-open. Put the oven tray on the highest rack. It takes 3-4 hours for the water to fully vaporize and the contents to dry. Touch the surface of the fruit leather and if it's dry and nothing sticks to your hand, turn the oven off.
If it's mostly dry and only some small parts stick to your hand, it’s alright. After turning the oven off, leave the fruit leather at room temperature for a few hours. Facing the air, those small parts dry up too.
Take the tray out of the oven and let it cool. Slowly, start separating the fruit leather from the parchment paper from the edges.
with a pastry brush, cover the fruit leather with the liquid you set aside at first. Roll it up and cut with a knife. Your Lavashak is ready!

Notes

2 kilograms of pomegranate contains 1.3 kilograms of seed.
When sieving the pomegranate seeds, some of the extracts stick to the strainer. Clean it, don't let it go to waste.
If your Lavashak is stuck to the parchment paper, do as follows:
Spray some water on the back of the paper. Wait for 1 minute for it to soak and soften. Now the Lavashak can be separated easily. Leave it somewhere to dry up with the help of air.

Is pomegranate fruit leather sour or sweet and sour?

-The sourness or sweetness of your pomegranate fruit leather depends on the taste of the pomegranate you choose. If your pomegranate is too sour, its fruit leather becomes sour too. If you don’t want it to be too sour, add some sugar while cooking.

-Adding sugar or salt depends on your preference and taste. If your pomegranate is sweet and you want a sweet and sour fruit roll, add a bit of salt.

-For more sourness, soak some barberries in water and add to the pomegranate seeds when they’re cooking. It gives an amazing flavor to the fruit roll.

-You can also add a spoonful of pomegranate paste before you remove the pomegranate puree from the stove.

-If you add some pomegranate molasses or the liquid we used for making the Lavashak to the dried-up fruit leather, it tastes even more amazing. You can even soak it up in some pomegranate paste and dried cherry! (It should be served right away)

Conclusion

In this post, we discussed the recipe for the pomegranate fruit roll. It’s easy to make, and its sour flavor is to die for; especially if you add some barberry to the ingredients or cover it in pomegranate paste.

An easy trick for removing the pomegranate seeds is soaking them in water.

I’ve explained the Lavashak recipe and all the tips necessary for preparing it in another post. You can find the recipes for Apple, Kiwi, and Cherry Lavashak there!

Sour lavashak