Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Herb guide to Holy Basil along with all the Holy Basil containing recipes presented on this site, with 24 recipes in total.

e This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Holy Basil as a major herb flavouring.

Holy Basil, Ocimum sanctum (also known as Tulsi, Tulasi, Holy Thai Basil, Sacred Basil and Ocimum tenuiflorum) is a member of the basils (see sweet basil and Thai basil) as such it's a member of the Lamiaceae (mint) family. It is a much branched annual herb that grows up to 50cm tall and forms a low bush. In Sanskrit (तुलसी) Tulsi, which literally means 'the incomparable one' and in India it is a venerated plant. Though there are two varieties: red and green and the red variety has the strongest scent. It is a native of temperate regions of the Old World and is most closely associated with India. It is a close relative of Thai basil (which is effectively a cultivar of Holy Basil) and both basil forms are often confused with one another (most often in seed catalogues). However, Holy basil is hairy and it has a hot and spicy flavour that's sometimes likened to cloves (whilst Thai Basil has a liquorice quality).

A tea made from Holy Basil is often used as a remedy for colds in India but it is not commonly used as a foodstuff. However, the use of Holy Basil as an herb is increasing in both Europe and the US and this plant becomes more commonly available in herb suppliers. It can add a spicy note to salads and is an excellent herb to add to fish curries.

Holy basil owes its pungent taste to the presence of sesqui­terpenoid, β-caryo­phyllene, and a phenyl­propanoid, methyl eugenol in the essential oil.



For other basil variants and cultivars, see the entries on: 'Sweet' basil, Thai basil; African blue basil and lemon basil.