difference between BLACK SALT ?

I bought black salt after getting a recipe for a tomato chutney from an elderly Indian man who made a meal for my husband and me. He lived with his children who did not want to cook Indian food in America.What wonderful food! We were living outside Washington DC then, late 70's. Sadly, I have lost the recipe, but still have the salt (more uses would be appreciated). What a wonderful description of the scent, Pauljoseph!

LOL: Hardly an expert... I think of myself more as a 'theethipatteri' (closest transalation: gourmand (as in semi foodie glutton in French))

You two are seriously impressive! I've only eber tried the hawaiian black salt, though the kala namak sounds fabulous...

Panfusine you are really an Indian American expert in Indian food thank you we need your help a lot

the term is also used to characterize the subtle variation of flavors of vegetables and other food produce from area to area.
I've never had a problem with getting kala namak here in the USA, never had to lug it from India which I would otherwise definitely would.

Panfusine Thank you 'mann vaasanai' in Malayalam we call ''bhoomiyude manam'' smell of the earthern soil as the first few drops of rain touch the ground..
Panfusine do you get kala namak in any grocery store in America?

its the intrinsic flavor that characterizes the salt. as with other foods like wines that have a characteristic of the area that the grapes were grown in (terrior), the geological make up of the region that these salts were harvested in determines the flavor.The kala namak that we use in Indian cooking & of course chat masala has a significant concentration of sulphur which gives it its characteristic eggy umami aroma.

(In tamil, I believe the term is 'mann vaasanai', being from Kerala, I'm sure you'll be able to transalate to the equivalent malayalam term)

The cyprus black salt as the link states is simply sea salt from the mediterranean sea mixed with charcoal, expect a smoky burnt flavor.