Friday, September 5, 2008

Nigella sativa

I am collecting recipes using Nigella sativa. It has many common names such as: black cumin seed, black seed, kalonji. It is often confused with black onion seeds and black sesame seeds. It is used primarily in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. It has a strong, pungent and distinct flavor.

It also has a long history in healing and the prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, said it would cure everything except death. Some of the healing properties are written about in the book for sale on this page Natural Remedies of Arabia. The oil is used a lot in products for healing the skin. I make a salve and a soap using black cumin seed oil. See my website: Wise Women of the West for these and other products.

If you have any recipes using nigella, and would like to be included in my upcoming recipe book, please send them to me.

3 comments:

Jackie said...

I actually did a post on it but only had one recipe of naan bread. I am unable to get the seed at the moment but I can get the oil and use it as a beauty aid.

BirthDrama said...

Is there such a thing as black seed flower essence? if so, where can i get it and what are its properties?

Jackie said...

I have never heard of an essence but that doesn't mean it is not available.