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‘Kalonji’, the tiny seeds that pack a punch
Summary
‘Kalonji’ isn't in every Indian kitchen, but it's a versatile spice perfect for elevating naans, dips, and traditional condiments
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.
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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, you can toast and crush these spices lightly to flavour achaari vegetables, like cauliflower or achaari paneer.
Bengali cuisine: Kalonji is one of the five key spices in panch phoron (a mix of fenugreek, mustard, fennel, cumin, and kalonji), used to temper Bengali dishes. Even something as simple as a cabbage subzi cooked in mustard oil with panch phoron, green chilies, and ginger tastes novel and delicious.
Seeded breads: This is my favourite kind of sourdough—rustic and studded with seeds that have pops of flavour in every bite.
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Beyond cooking, kalonji has its role in traditional home remedies—yet another example of spices moonlighting as medicines. My Bengali friend tells me that kalonji oil alone, or mixed with mustard oil, is often massaged into aching joints for relief from arthritic or muscular pain. Kalonji-infused hair oil is trending these days (marketed as onion-seed oil) for hair fall and general follicular woes. I buy mine from a local oil mill, and while I can’t speak to the scientific evidence, the onion-like smell is a great excuse to stay home.
Kalonji Naan
Makes 6 naans
Ingredients
1 cup maida (refined flour)
1 cup wheat flour
Half tsp salt
Half tsp baking soda
Half tsp instant yeast (optional)
Half cup curd
Flour for dusting
1-2 tsp kalonji
Method
An iron tava with a handle is required for this recipe .
In a large bowl, combine the two flours, salt, baking soda and instant yeast.
Whisk the curd to remove any lumps.
Make a well in the dry ingredients, add the curd and combine with a wooden spoon. Add water little by little to make a soft dough. Knead for 5-7 minutes. Cover and keep aside for 1-3 hours. Gently punch down and knead the well-risen dough. Divide into 6 portions. Roll out each ball into an oval shape, sprinkling some kalonji seeds in the final rolling out stage so that it sticks to the dough.
Heat an iron tava (or any other tava that is not non-stick).
Apply water generously on the other side of the rolled out naan (opposite to the side on which the kalonji is stuck). Place the naan on the hot tava water side down, so that it sticks to the griddle.
Cook on a medium flame for a minute until you see bubbles all around the surface of the naan. Hold the handle of the tava and turn it over on the flame directly, such that the side with the kalonji is getting cooked on the flame. Keep moving the tava so that the naan gets cooked and browned all over, puffing up in parts.
Turn over the tava and using a sharp steel spatula, scrape out the naan. Apply some butter on the top if you wish.
If you haven’t applied enough water to make the naan stick, it may fall off when you turn the tava over on the flame. In which case hold it with a pair of tongs and turn it all around to cook and brown.
Serve hot with any curries or dips of choice.
Kalonji-infused carrot dip
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp mustard oil
Half tsp kalonji
Half tsp cumin seeds
Half tsp smoked paprika (optional)
1 tsp red chilli flakes
Half tsp salt
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 tbsp lemon juice
For the garnish
Pinch of kalonji
Tsp of coriander leaves
Method
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line a baking tray with baking paper or aluminium foil. Smear some oil if using foil.
Combine the carrots, garlic, mustard oil, kalonji, smoked paprika, chilli flakes and salt on the baking tray. Make sure the carrots are well coated with the oil and spices. Spread it out in a single layer. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes or until the carrots are soft and slightly caramelised. Cool slightly.
Transfer the contents of the baking tray to a mixer. Add yogurt and lemon juice. Blend till smooth. Remove this to a shallow bowl. Garnish with a sprinkling of kalonji and herbs.
Serve with pita chips, naan wedges or crackers.
Double Tested is a fortnightly column on vegetarian cooking, highlighting a single ingredient prepared two ways.
Nandita Iyer’s latest book is The Great Indian Thali—Seasonal Vegetarian Wholesomeness (Roli Books). She posts @saffrontrail on Twitter and Instagram.
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