Black salt

kala namak

Salt that tastes of sulphur and memory — the soul of a good chaat.

What it is

Black salt is a rock salt with a startling character: an eggy, sulphurous aroma and a savoury tang quite unlike table salt. Despite the name it is pinkish-grey to dark purple, turning pale pink when ground. That sulphur note is the whole point — it is what makes chaat taste of chaat.

Where it comes from

It comes from the salt regions of the northern subcontinent — the Himalayan and South Asian salt ranges — and was historically kiln-fired with seeds and charcoal to develop its sulphur compounds. It belongs to the street-food and chaat tradition.

What it's called

Black salt · kala namak (Hindi) · bit lobon. Ground, it is often called pink from its colour.

In the kitchen

A finishing seasoning, not a cooking salt — sprinkled over chaats, fruit, raita and cooling summer drinks for its tangy, sulphurous lift. Its aroma is volatile, so it goes on near the end or at the table. A little defines a dish; too much dominates.

What we know about the claims

Black salt is still salt, so the ordinary sodium caution applies; it is sometimes credited with digestive virtues in folk use, best read as tradition rather than treatment. Its value is entirely its flavour.

Choosing and buying

Sold ground or as lumps in South Asian grocers (UK and US); ground is the everyday form. A little goes far, and it keeps indefinitely.