‘Kalonji’, the tiny seeds that pack a punch
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. There’s one ingredient that features in both my kitchen and bathroom cabinet: kalonji. This whole spice adds depth to my cooking, while freshly milled kalonji oil serves as my go-to hair oil.
Kalonji (also known as black seed or black cumin) is not a common staple spice in all Indian households; in fact, I never encountered it in the kitchens of my family while growing up. And yet, it’s now a must-have in my pantry. Just yesterday, as I was preparing kulcha for a friend’s dinner, I found myself frantically searching for the bottle of kalonji—an essential touch for studding the surface of the bread.
Just a pinch of these seeds packs a punch, and when I flip the pan to brown the top over an open flame, the aroma of kalonji crackling in the heat is simply beautiful. As with many foods, kalonji’s nomenclature is misleading. Many people think of it or call it as “onion seed".
While it does carry a hint of onion-y aroma, kalonji is unrelated to onions. In Bengali, it’s called kalo jeere, but it’s neither an onion nor a true cumin seed. Instead, kalonji comes from the flowering plant Nigella sativa.
Its appearance may resemble onion seeds, but that’s where the similarity ends. Here’s how I incorporate kalonji in my cooking: Flatbread topper: When rolling out kulcha or naans, I sprinkle some kalonji on top and run the rolling pin over it to help the seeds stick. It adds a unique burst of flavour and crunch to the bread.
Finger-licking pickles: Kalonji is one of the essential spices in north Indian pickles made with mangoes or lemons. Combined with mustard, fenugreek, and fennel seeds, it creates a vibrant blend of flavours, almost like a savoury edible perfume. If pickling isn’t your thing,
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