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 26 recipes in total.

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.