Black caraway

Black caraway is a slender perennial herb of the carrot family, growing wild on dry mountain slopes and producing umbels of small white flowers. It is known for a tuber-like root and finely divided leaves.

The seeds are small, thin, curved and dark brown, with fine ridges, looking like a darker, finer relative of cumin or caraway. Their aroma is warm, sweet and slightly woody, with notes of caraway and a hint of smoke or pine.

They are sold whole in specialist spice shops in India, Iran and Pakistan, usually in small quantities at a high price, since most supply is wild-collected.

Bunium persicum, now placed by some authorities in the genus Elwendia as Elwendia persica, is native to the mountains of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India, notably Kashmir and the Himalayan regions.

It is mostly harvested from wild stands, though cultivation trials and small plantings exist in the Himalayas and Iran.

Its common names are confusing. In India the name kala jeera means black cumin, and it may be applied to this spice or to Nigella sativa, which is a different plant. Persicum in the Latin name refers to Persia.

Black caraway has been collected for centuries in the Himalayan and Central Asian highlands, where villagers harvest wild seed in summer and trade it down to the plains. It became a prestige spice in the royal kitchens of the Mughals, which is the source of the name shahi jeera, meaning royal cumin.

Kashmiri cooking uses the spice in meat dishes, pulao and spice blends such as garam masala, and in the northwest of Pakistan and Afghanistan it flavours rice and breads. Persian and Central Asian traditions use it in rice dishes and teas.

Traditional medicine in the region has used the seeds for digestive complaints and as a carminative.

Overcollection has put pressure on wild populations, and farmers and research institutes in India, Iran and Pakistan have worked on domesticating and cultivating the plant, since demand is high and wild supply is limited.

Cooks fry black caraway briefly in oil or ghee to release its aroma, then add it to rice, pulao, biryani, lentil dishes and meat curries, particularly in Kashmiri and Mughal cuisine. It also goes into garam masala and other spice blends and into breads and cheese dishes.

In Iran and Central Asia, it is used to flavour rice and stews.

Traditionally, a tea of the seeds was taken for indigestion and gas. The essential oil has also been studied for flavour and fragrance.

Black caraway seeds contain essential oils, such as cuminaldehyde and terpenes, along with phenolic compounds. Laboratory and animal studies suggest antioxidant, antimicrobial and digestive effects, but human clinical evidence is limited.

In traditional medicine it has been used as a carminative and digestive aid. At normal culinary amounts it is a flavouring and not a health intervention.