Indian Pantry

[Episure]

It's the same thing. In crystalline form it is reflective and shines to look almost dark purple. When powdered it becomes pink and has a sulphurous heady aroma.

It is also spelled Sindhi/Sindhav Namak(salt).

[Rushina]

Funnily enough I came online with the express intention of telling you, Nessa that you should PM episure and ask him.... Nobody better when you have a question about an imgredient!!!

Rushina

[nessa]

Sulphurous, huh. Hmmm. So.... do you use it just like regular salt? Are there particular dishes that it pairs better with than others? I'm intrigued.

[Monica Bhide]

Black salt is generally used for snack foods like chaat or for drinks like Jal Jeera. i have not seen it used in cooking vegetables or meats

It has a strong smell though so beware.. it does sort of mellow down. We had a funny experience here in DC with it. A chef used it at a tasting and people sweared up and down there was a rotten egg in the room!

Personally I love the taste of it

(Hi nessa )

[nessa]

Hello Monica

I'll hold off on the black salt for now, then. I have not yet advanced to the chaat portion of my exploration. At least not making it. I'm planning on making it to a chaat house? soon. I'm not sure what you call a place that primarily serves chaat.

Thanks everyone for explaining!

[chromedome]

I think I've got about 3/4 of the items on Suvir's list, and a few others besides. I've mostly accumulated them one at a time; initially to meet the needs of a specific dish I wanted to try, and then later just to have them on hand to expand my "range", so to speak.

My two most recent additions are nigella seed (kalonji) and curry leaves.

[Pan]

Which things are you still lacking?

[chromedome]

panch phoron

amchoor

carom seeds

white poppy seeds

Poha

Bhel Puri Mix

Coconut Flakes (unsweetened)

asafoetida

I'll have accumulated most of those before summer's over. I was at the little Punjabi store near my sister-in-law's house yesterday, but I only replenished my stock of coriander seed and picked a squeeze tube of mehendi for my daughter's birthday party (next weekend, all the guests will get a "tattoo").

Now I just need some time to enjoy it all. <sigh>

[Pan]

You could always make your own panch phoran by combining the appropriate five spices according to a formula in a cookbook (or one probably mentioned somewhere back in this thread).

Amchoor is a very useful souring agent, especially when you don't want to increase the liquidity by adding something like lemon juice.

I see that carom seeds are ajwain, which is one of my favorite Indian spices but indeed not one of the most common.

White poppy seeds are delicious by also a kind of "special effect," when compared to staples like cumin, coriander, etc.

I see poha is "Flaked, Beaten rice" (see http://www.bawarchi.com/glossary.html). I'm not familiar with it.

I like asafoetida, but I guess it could be called an acquired taste, and not everyone likes it.

Do you have anardana (dried pomegranate seeds)? That's another wonderful "special effect" "spice."

[Guest nimki]

You could always make your own panch phoran by combining the appropriate five spices....

the other four are fine but Radhuni is VERY elusive........I have never seen it in any stores available loose as a spice.....very few grocers seem to have heard of it.....in fact I saw it only when a friend got panch phoran for me from kolkatta.

[Pan]

What's radhuni? There's a recipe for panch phoran here, which I think I can reprint since it's just a note at the bottom of a much longer recipe:

If panch phoran is unavailable, replace the 2 t. of the spice in this recipe with 1/2 t. white cumin seeds, 1/2 t. fennel seeds, 1/2 t. fenugreek seeds, 1/2 t. black mustard seeds, and 1/2 t. black onion seeds (kalonji).

Is radhuni a synonym for kalonji (nigella seeds)? Nigella seeds aren't all that difficult to find in New York. Very easy for me, in fact, because there's a Bangladeshi store a couple of blocks from my apartment where one can get 8-ounce bags or something pretty cheaply. Nigella is a wonderful flavor, too, and worth having around separately.

Other recipes call for "wild onion seed." Is that the same as nigella/kalonji?