The illustrious pomegranate (obliquity65.com)

Come fall, I eagerly hunt for huge, ripe pomegranates at my grocery store. At their peak from September to January, they are delicious and make my slap-dash cooking somehow more exotic and upscale. Mostly I love to eat them plain, though, with a little bit of pepper, as my husband’s family does in Pakistan.

According to the Hindustan Times, pomegranate exports have increased 100 percent in the last three years with the popularity of pomegranate juice. The Indian government plans to promote the pomegranate as the partner to the illustrious mango. (Maybe it will become the fruit of choice for cheesy Indian lit paperbacks.)

I plan to become the Indian Martha this season by whipping up this [1] easy pomegranate chutney. If I’m feeling adventurous, maybe I’ll even try this recipe for [2] Aloo Anardana.