Bunium persicum

Description

Elwendia persica is a plant species in the family Apiaceae. It is related to cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and sometimes called black cumin, blackseed, black caraway, and has a smoky, earthy taste. It is often confused with Nigella sativa (which is also called black cumin, blackseed, and black caraway), by which it is often substituted in cooking. Dried E. persica fruits are used as a culinary spice in northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Iran. It is practically unknown outside these areas. Local names for that spice are kala zeera (black cumin) or shahi zeera (imperial cumin) in Hindi, as syah zirah (black cumin), kaala zirah (black cumin), and zirah kuhi (mountain/wild cumin) in Urdu, zireh kuhi (wild cumin) in Persian, and siyoh dona (black seed) in Tajiki, and in Malayalam sahajīrakaṁ. The commonly used Hindi term shahi zeera may be a distortion of syahi (black in Persian) zeera. However, in the Hindustani language, the term syahi also means "inky black". In Bengali, kalo zeera also means black cumin, but refers to Nigella, not E. persica. Nigella is widely used as a spice in Bengali food.