Nigella (Nigella sativa L.)
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Nigella seeds |
Used plant part
The deep black, sharp-cornered seed grains.
Plant family
Ranunculaceae (buttercup family).
Sensoric quality
Slightly
bitter and aromatic, weakly reminiscent of
oregano.
Main constituents
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Nigella flower and capsule |
The seeds contain numerous esters of structurally unusual unsaturated fatty acids with terpene alcohols (7%); fat oil content is about 40%. Furthermore, traces of alkaloids (nigelline-N-oxide, nigellone, nigellimine) are reported.
In the essential oil (avr. 0.5%, max. 1.5%), thymoquinone was identified as the main component (54%) besides p-cymene, dithymoquinone and thymohydroquinone. Other terpene derivatives were found only in trace amounts: Carvacrol, carvone, limonene, 4-terpineol, citronellol.
Origin
Probably Western Asia. Although nigella is not mentioned in the common Bible translations, there is good evidence that an obscure plant name mentioned in the Old Testament means nigella; if true, this would indicate that nigella is cultivated since far more than two millennia (see pomegranate).
Today, the plant is cultivated from the Near East to India.
Etymology
Nearly all
names of nigella contain an element meaning "black" (German
schwarz, Hindi
kala, Latin niger,
Estonian must, Arabic
aswad), because of the
unusual dark color. Onion seed (or German
Zwiebelsame) refers to the similarity with the
seed of
onion plants.
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Nigella flower |
Nigella is mentioned in the Bible, but today it is well known not only in Western, but also in Central and South Asia; its main application area is Turkey, Libanon and Iran. Turkish bread frequently shows the characteristically shaped black grains; another spice sometimes used to flavour Near Eastern bread are mahaleb cherry stones.
From Iran, nigella usage has spread to Northern India. The spice is mostly used for vegetable dishes (aubergines, pumpkin). It should be fried or dry-roasted before usage to enhance the taste.
In the Indian union states West Bengal and Sikkim, as well as in Bangladesh, a spice mixture named panch phoron (five spices) is very popular, especially for meat dishes. It contains nigella, fenugreek, cumin, black mustard seed and fennel, usually at equal parts; further optional ingredients are ajwain (sometimes instead of cumin) or black pepper. This mixture of whole spices must be fried in oil before usage; to be authentic, use mustard oil - but be sure to read this link before!