Karunjeeragam (Nigella sativa)

Karunjeeragam is Nigella sativa, the small black angular seed Hindi kitchens call kalonji. English “black cumin” and “black seed” are the same spice and a source of endless mix-ups: it is not Cuminum cyminum (true cumin, seeragam) and it is not Bunium or Elwendia “black cumin.” Get the family right. This is a buttercup, not an umbellifer.

Botanical name: Nigella sativa L.
Family: Ranunculaceae
Tamil: Karunjeeragam
Hindi: Kalonji
Sanskrit: Upakuncikā
Parts used: Seeds, Seed oil
Habit: Annual of the buttercup family; the spice is the black seed
Last updated: 2026-10-30

How to recognise Karunjeeragam

Linnaeus published Nigella sativa. The family is Ranunculaceae. It is an annual with finely cut leaves, pale flowers, and an inflated capsule that opens at the top to shed dull-black, trigonous seeds.

The seed is the trade object: 2–3 mm, matte black, angular, with a warm, oregano-like smell when crushed. A shiny seed or a brown one is a reason to doubt the lot.

Tamil karunjeeragam (“black cumin”) and Hindi kalonji are the kitchen names. The English phrase black cumin is also used for Bunium persicum / Elwendia persica. If a packet only says black cumin, you do not yet know the genus.

True cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is a pale ridged umbellifer seed. Onion seed (Allium) is a different shape. Do not identify this spice by colour alone.

Crush a seed and smell it.

Fixed oil pressed from the seed is a different article from the whole seed in a tadka. Strength and what else went in the bottle are usually unstated.

A seed that smells of old paint or of almost nothing is stale or is not this spice. Crush a few before the tin goes into a monthly masala.

Traditional use of Karunjeeragam

Indian and wider West Asian kitchens

The seed is a spice.

Culinary practice from the Mediterranean to South Asia

Unani and Ayurveda

Kalonji / upakuncikā appears as a pungent seed in those lists. Historical headings are not a modern claim about immunity or tumours.

Unani and Ayurvedic headings

Modern notes on Karunjeeragam

Thymoquinone papers have travelled farther than the kitchen. A pinch of seed and a solvent extract are not interchangeable, and most of the striking results come from rodents and cell cultures.

The practical modern issue is the English name tangle plus oils that may be diluted or old.

Karunjeeragam safety

A pinch of seed in a tadka is the kitchen amount. Spoonfuls of oil and capsules are not a tadka.

The plant is in the buttercup family. Concentrated products can bother the stomach and, in some people, the skin.

Pregnant people should not start oil regimes from a “black seed” poster. Culinary use in food is a different sentence.

Ecology and sourcing

It is an annual crop. Nobody needs a wild-collection romance for kalonji.

Related plants

Questions about Karunjeeragam

Is karunjeeragam the same as cumin?

No. Karunjeeragam is Nigella sativa, a buttercup. Cumin (seeragam) is Cuminum cyminum, an umbellifer. The Tamil “black cumin” is a colour nickname, not a species.

Is black cumin always Nigella?

No. Some packets mean Bunium / Elwendia. Ask for the Latin name.

Sources

Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.