The tradition of eating flavored Pahadi Salt | Fusion - WeRIndia

Have you ever heard of pahadi salt? Did you come across any colored and flavored salt?

There is an old saying, take everything with a pinch of salt in life.

But, in food, salt should be added in a perfect quantity, too little or more will spoil its taste.

The freshness, color and edgy taste of pahadi namak (salt) have remained an alternative to table salt in Uttarakhand households for several decades.

Pahadi salt is pounded and ground with the combination of numerous herbs that give a special flavor to the cuisine.

Flavored and coloured salts are not a new thing to the world. Pink-hued rock salt in the Himalayas, black lava salt or blue salt in Iran etc. are some examples.

The flavoured salts in Uttarakhand have a long ancient tradition. The pahadi salt is found in the hills of Kumaon in the east and Garhwal in the west of Uttarakhand.

This salt is infused with several flavors including garlic, ginger, mustard, cumin, coriander and various types of chillies including red, yellow and green.

This salt can be added to any dish to give a special flavor or can be eaten with rotis or parathas especially during winter season when the mountain ranges are not accessible.

Many women try to keep their salty tradition alive by infusing it with mustard seeds and chillies.

Daindoosa is a pungent salt made of chillies which is one of the salts used during winter in their cuisine.

Some claim that people in hilly areas consume less water in winter and the habit of adding salt to their daily diet improves their thirst.

While others believe the flavor of the salt is the reason behind its popularity as the coarse texture of rock salt improves the aroma of the food, most people believe that pahadi salt helps them to consume healthy herbs in their diet.
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