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The Chettinad secret

Kalpasi

From Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu

£2.95
30g

VAT-free (zero-rated food)

Kalpasi — black stone flower — is the spice that gives Chettinad and Hyderabadi biryanis their unmistakable smoky depth. A lichen, not a spice in the strict sense. Almost no Western kitchen has it; almost no Tamil kitche…

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The story

Kalpasi — black stone flower — is the spice that gives Chettinad and Hyderabadi biryanis their unmistakable smoky depth. A lichen, not a spice in the strict sense. Almost no Western kitchen has it; almost no Tamil kitchen is without it.

Hand-collected in the Kolli Hills, the Eastern Ghats spice belt of Tamil Nadu.

How to use

In the kitchen.

  • 01Bloom in hot oil with bay leaf and cinnamon at the start of any biryani.
  • 02Use sparingly — half a gram flavours an entire pot.

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