Nigella

A small black teardrop-shaped spice with an oniony flavor—hence its other common name, black onion seed. In Hindi and related languages it is known as kalonji or as kalajira. It is not from the onion family, but instead is the seed of the Nigella sativa plant, which is related to Queen Anne’s lace. Nigella is used sparingly on naan and to flavor hot oil at the start of cooking. One of the whole spices in the Bengali five-spice mix panch phoron (see the recipe), it is available in South Asian groceries and some well-stocked groceries.