Description

Ocimum basilicum, sweet basil, is a short-lived aromatic herb of the family Lamiaceae, originating in tropical Central Africa and South Asia and now cultivated across Mediterranean Europe, the Americas, and tropical Asia as both a culinary and medicinal plant. In the Indian subcontinent, the small black seeds — known as Sabja, Tukmaria, or falooda seeds — are distinguished from the plant’s culinary use and have a separate traditional identity. When immersed in water, the seeds develop a characteristic gelatinous mucilaginous coating and are traditionally incorporated into sharbats, rose-water drinks, and cooling preparations during summer months across South Asian and Persian culinary traditions. The seeds appear in Unani pharmacopoeia as Tukhme Rehan.