Rosewater, Pistachio & Pomegranate Yoghurt
Cold strained yoghurt under a drift of pomegranate seeds and green pistachios, scented with just enough rosewater to notice.
Why it works
Rosewater goes one way only: it never cooks off and cannot be taken back out, so it goes into cold yoghurt half a teaspoon at a time with a taste between additions. Pomegranate brings sweetness and acidity in the same seed, which is why one tablespoon of honey covers four bowls, and cardamom carries a faint bitterness that stops the whole thing turning perfumed.
Method
- Roll the pomegranate firmly under your palm on the board to loosen the seeds, then cut it in half around its equator.
- Hold each half cut-side down over a bowl, fingers spread, and hit the skin all over with a wooden spoon. The seeds drop through in seconds. Pick out any pale pith.
- Beat the yoghurt smooth in a second bowl with the cardamom, lime zest and half a teaspoon of rosewater. Taste, and add the rest only if it is not clearly there. It should read as a suggestion rather than a scent.
- Spread the yoghurt over four shallow bowls, dragging the back of the spoon to leave a shallow well in each.
- Pile the pomegranate into the wells, scatter over the pistachios and mint, trickle the honey across in a thin thread and finish with the salt, which sharpens the fruit.
For the toddler
Set a spoonful of plain yoghurt aside at the start of step 3, before the rosewater goes in, and keep the honey and salt off it at step 5. Honey is not for a baby under one year old; a little mashed ripe banana or grated apple sweetens theirs instead. Crush a few pomegranate seeds under a fork, and grind the pistachios to a powder or leave them off, as chopped nuts are a choking risk under five.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Skyr or drained kefir for a sharper bowl. Walnuts instead of pistachios, orange blossom water instead of rose.
A tub of ready-seeded pomegranate turns this into a four-minute pudding and saves the wooden spoon.
Small glasses of hot mint tea, and a plate of dried apricots or fresh dates.
The scented yoghurt keeps 3 days chilled. Store the seeds and nuts separately: once they sit on yoghurt they bleed pink within the hour.