🇸🇦 Arabicar
حبة البركة
habbat al-barakah
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, India
Nigella seed
0.4–2.5%
thymoquinone share
of the fixed oil — nigella's signature
30–40%
fixed oil yield
of dry seed weight
1323 BCE
found in Tutankhamun's tomb
archaeological record
3 y
shelf life of whole seed
in sealed glass
Visual atlas
Profile
Nigella sativa is a small annual of the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae, grown for its angular jet-black seeds — not a cumin, not an onion seed, not a true black caraway, despite every nickname it has collected. The seed carries a signature compound, thymoquinone, alongside p-cymene and alpha-pinene, which together deliver the toasted-onion and wild-oregano register that defines it. India dominates modern production, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh in particular, with meaningful output from Egypt, Turkey, Ethiopia and Iran. In the kitchen it anchors Bengali panch phoron, crusts Turkish çörek and Lebanese manakish, speckles Indian naan, and finishes Yemeni and Ethiopian breads. Toast whole in dry oil to bloom the aromatics; crushed, the seed turns sharper, closer to toasted onion skin. The plant itself is ornamental-grade, with pale blue flowers and inflated seed capsules that split to release the crop when dry.
Origin
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh, India.
India
Punjab and Himachal Pradesh · Dhaka division (Bangladesh)
Process
01October
Sowing
Nigella sativa drilled into cool, well-drained soil — Bengal, Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia all run a rabi-style winter cycle.
02December
Flowering
Pale blue-white five-petalled flowers open on wiry plants; the romantic-looking Ranunculaceae family shows here, nothing to do with onion or cumin.
03February
Capsule fill
Flowers give way to inflated capsules — each one holds dozens of angular black seeds, protected until the pod splits.
04March
Harvest
Whole plants are cut, bundled and dried under cover; pods are then opened and seeds released.
05Cleaning
Winnowing
Angular jet-black seeds are separated from the pale chaff. Only the triangular, matte-black grains make the grade.
06Your jar
Whole, toasted briefly
Store whole in sealed glass; aroma holds 2–3 years. Dry-toast 30 seconds before sprinkling on bread or stirring into panch phoron.
Inside the berry
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
GC-MS of Nigella sativa: the fixed oil dominates (30–40% of seed weight), but it's the minor essential oil, and in particular thymoquinone, that gives the seed its peppery-bitter-warm signature and most of its pharmacological interest.
35%
Fixed oil
of dry seed weight
1.5%
Thymoquinone
of the essential oil
6%
Moisture
post shade-dry
40+
Volatile compounds
identified in recent GC-MS
Volatile compound profile
- Thymoquinone30.0%
The signature: peppery-bitter, slightly medicinal, warm.
- p-Cymene25.0%
Woody-citrus — the oregano-adjacent frame.
- α-Thujene10.0%
Resinous, pine-like — a clean top note.
- Longifolene8.0%
Warm woody-amber — adds roundness.
- Carvacrol4.0%
Oregano-adjacent, phenolic, slightly sharp.
- β-Pinene3.0%
Pine-fresh green thread.
Versus other peppers
| Pepper | Thymoquinone | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Bengal nigella Panch phoron grade · balanced | 30% | 0.7% |
Turkish nigella Çörek grade · sweeter fixed oil | 35% | 0.6% |
Egyptian nigella Highest thymoquinone on record | 40% | 0.5% |
Ethiopian nigella Berbere component · milder | 28% | 0.8% |
Black sesame (Sesamum) Not related · comparison only | N/A | 50% |
Cuisines
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
Nigella (kalonji) is one of the five seeds of panch phoron, the Bengali whole-spice opener tempered in mustard oil before fish, dal or vegetables.
- Panch phorongrade: bengal-nigella
Equal parts nigella, cumin, fennel, fenugreek and mustard — tempered whole.
- Aloo kalonjigrade: bengal-nigella
Baby potatoes stir-fried with nigella and green chilli.
- Machher jholgrade: bengal-nigella
Bengali fish curry, nigella in the opening tadka.
Around the world
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
🇨🇳 Chinesezh
黑種草籽
hei zhong cao zi
🇬🇧 Englishen
Nigella seed
🇫🇷 Frenchfr
Nigelle
🇩🇪 Germande
Schwarzkümmel
🇮🇳 Hindihi
कलौंजी
kalonji
🇮🇹 Italianit
Nigella
🇯🇵 Japaneseja
ニゲラ
nigera
🇵🇹 Portuguesept
Nigela
🇪🇸 Spanishes
Neguilla
Seasonality
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Peak harvestTail harvestStored, available
Pairings
Protein
- Pan-fried fish
Plant
- Roasted potatoes
Substitutes
- Black Sesame45% match· soon
- Cumin Seed30% match· soon
Frequent questions
No, and the names are the main source of confusion. Nigella sativa is a Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), not an Apiaceae like cumin, and nothing to do with Allium (onion). The 'black cumin' label is sometimes also used for Bunium persicum, a different plant again. If the seed is angular, matte black and smells peppery-herbal, it's nigella.