Parmotrema perlatum, commonly known as black stone flower, is a species of lichen used as spice in India. The species occurs throughout the temperate Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Typically used in meat dishes like nahari (Paaya), Bombay biryani, Goat meat stews, it is also used in vegetarian dishes. It is one of the ingredients in East Indian Bottle Masala, used for cooking Meats, fish and vegetables.
In its raw state, black stone flower does not have much taste or fragrance. However, when put in contact with heat, especially Cooking oil and Ghee, it releases a distinctive earthy, smoky flavour and aroma. This property of black stone flower is especially valued in the Tempering step of cooking a number of Indian dishes.[2][3][4]
Some of the other names for it include shaileyam in Sanskrit, kalpasi in Tamil, Dagar da Phool in Punjabi, dagad phool in Marathi, Raathi Pootha (Banda puvvu) in Telugu "Kallu hoovu" in Kannada and patthar ke phool in Hindi, "Bojhwar"and "Chadila" in northern India.[2]
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