Kala namak, or Indian black salt: a rock salt kiln-fired with charcoal and herbs in the South Asian tradition, which leaves it with a striking sulphurous, savoury aroma. The lumps are dark purple-brown; ground, the powder is pink-grey. Jarred by Damune of Barcelona.
The smell is the point
Open the jar and it smells of hard-boiled egg. That is not a fault — it is the entire reason the salt exists. The firing process creates sulphur compounds that read to the nose as egg yolk, and Indian cooking has used that savoury, slightly funky note for centuries.
The aroma is much stronger raw than cooked, and much stronger in the jar than on the plate. If the smell puts you off at first, taste a few grains on something bland before judging it.
What it is used for
In Indian cooking: it is a core component of chaat masala, and is used on chaat and street snacks, in raita and yoghurt dishes, in chutneys, on sliced fruit with chilli and lime, in jal jeera and other spiced drinks, and over salads.
In vegan cooking: kala namak is the single ingredient that makes scrambled tofu taste like scrambled egg. A pinch stirred through tofu, chickpea-flour omelettes, vegan mayonnaise, egg-free egg salad or a plant-based quiche supplies the eggy note that nothing else provides.
How to use it
Add it late, off the heat or at the table — prolonged cooking drives off the volatile sulphur compounds and you lose the character. Use less than you think: it is assertive, and a pinch changes a whole bowl. Because the flavour is distinctive rather than neutral, it does not replace everyday salt.
treatfuls
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