The legendary flavoured ground salt from India: Pisyu loon

This tangy, fiery condiment is only available from the kitchens of Uttarakhand. Thanks to local women, you can now get it on Amazon.

On the plate in front of me, raw mango slices have been carefully arranged into the petals of a flower. My friend, Alka Dogra, urges me to eat them right away.

One bite, and immediately, my tastebuds are alight with hot, piquant salt that pairs beautifully with the sourness of the fruit.

“This has the hari mirch pisyun loon (green chilli salt) from Uttarakhand you so wanted to taste,” she shares.

But I hardly listen, already transported back in time. It’s lunchtime in sixth grade and we’re eating our way through our lunches. A girl named Mahima brings out a small packet and asks, teasingly: “Kis kis ko chahiye (How many of you want)?” We jump with delight: This is her mother’s irresistible signature spice mix.

We spread out guavas, apples and oranges. I sprinkle the coarse, deep green mixture on an orange slice and pop it in my mouth. The sharp salt and hot chilli mix with the sweet and sour orange juice in a fiery, tangy explosion of flavour.

We craved that legendary spice mix. And when Mahima left school the next year, we had to eat our fruit with plain salt, sulking.

I’d almost forgotten this memory, but 20 years later, I was reminded while enjoying some fruit with Alka in Delhi one sunny winter afternoon. She lamented: “Daadi ka pisyun loon hota to kya baat thi (If only my grandmother’s flavoured salts were here).”

“Pisyun what?” I asked, confused.

“It’s our special salt from Uttarakhand,” she responded and promised to share some pisyun loon with me the next time her mother sent some.

It was worth the wait. As I savour the salt-sprinkled mango slices Alka has laid out for me, I am