Black salt

Black salt is a special type of Indian mineral salt. Used in northern Indian cooking, particularly in the snacks, beverages and salads sold from street carts and stall, black salt is solid in crystal or powder form, has a very mild but interesting flavor and smell more pungent that it tastes.

The black salt is considered to be an extremely delicious and spicy additive to Eastern cuisine, especially when making snacks and spicy dishes. It is also part of blend called chaat masala.

Salads, chopped fruit and vegetables are sprinkled with black salt, pepper and roasted cumin seeds to give them extra spicy touch.

It is not sea salt but rather is mined in quarries found on the fertile plains of central India. Sometime sold as rock salt, the amber to dark-brown crystals become smoky grey when ground. It has a very distinctive sulfurous mineral taste.

Despite the name, this mineral is contain no sodium, so has no effect in blood pressure and is in fact considered an antidote to dehydration.
Black salt