Make a New Addition to Your Spice Box: Get Nigella Seeds Today

One of the fantastic things about spices and herbs is the goodness they possess when they are present in their natural habitat. For instance, Nigella sativa is a plant that is known for gorgeous and delicate flowers. This plant is found throughout Syria, Turkey, and parts of Iraq. They vary in colour from white to light blue and have tall, skinny leaves.

The flowers from these plants contain seeded pods. These are nothing but the nigella seeds or black cumin fruits, as we know them. They are also known as Kalouji in India and Charnushka in the US.

Sensory Quality

Although these seeds have little odour, they can develop an oregano-like scent when chewed. The taste is slighter bitter and aromatic. Sometimes, you may even feel it smoky and pungent. But the pungency is mainly found in seeds that are unripe and yet to be dried.

Nutritional facts

Black seeds include components like amino acids, carbohydrates, proteins, fixed and volatile oils, fibre, alkaloids, and saponin. You can also find traces of iron, potassium, calcium, and sodium. Nigella seeds also possess a good amount of unsaturated fatty acids. These fatty acids form the base for proteins and are excellent for infant growth.

How to Store?

You can preserve the aroma and flavour when you store these seeds in an airtight container and place it away from moisture. You can use the whole seeds for almost a year. They are still edible later but may lose some flavour in comparison to when they are fresh.

Uses

Kalounji is a multi-purpose seed and hence finds applications in many domains

Culinary Uses

The most common use of this seed is it is used as a seasoning agent in Middle Eastern, Asian, and Mediterranean recipes. It adds an enticing aroma and excellent flavour to the cuisines. For unleashing the best flavours, consider to dry roast the seeds in a hot and heavy pan before adding them on to the dish. You can also use them as a topping for naan, a traditional Indian bread, and vegetable curries. The whole seeds are also used as toppings across many cultures like Middle eastern flatbread, Turkish and American breads. Use them atop of bagels, spicy pickles, and curries.

Kitchen Remedy

These seeds possess impressive medicinal properties that make them a top-rated kitchen remedy agent. Various maladies like fever, common cold, throat sore, headache, toothache, upset stomach, bronchitis, asthma, and many other conditions can be alleviated.

Personal care Uses

Excellent nutrient components in Kalounji take good care of your nails and hair. Using these seeds, along with some skin-friendly oil, is known to provide superior nourishment to your hair and nails. This mixture strengthens and helps to make the nails and hair shiny.

These seeds are one of the widely used and admired varieties that give you a dual benefit of taste and health. Include this delicious seasoning agent in your kitchen cabinet to add a dash of natural black to your food. They certainly make a perfect addition to every recipe in your cookbook!