Rai
Mustard seed, popped in hot oil in southern and eastern India for a nutty, sharp flavour.
Also: black mustard, sarson, kadugu, mohri, mustard seed
Rai is the name for mustard seed, mainly the small black or brown seed of Brassica nigra and B. juncea. Whole seeds are harmless in smell until crushed or wet, which starts an enzyme reaction that creates the sharp heat of allyl isothiocyanate. Fried whole in hot oil they pop and turn nutty and mild, which is the tadka of southern Indian cooking. Ground and mixed with water or vinegar they make mustard paste, and Bengali kasundi relies on it. Mustard oil, pressed from the seed, is the cooking fat of Bengal and Punjab. Mustard is among the oldest spices of Europe as well.