The Essentials

Basil plants growing in a garden bed, broad glossy green leaves in pairs along the stems with small white flower spikes — Persian basil (reyhan) is grown as a leafy bush and picked leaf by leaf for the herb plate.

You'll notice basil at almost every Persian meal, fresh sprigs waiting on the table. Tradition reads it as warm, dry and aromatic, and credits the same handful with lifting the spirits and waking up digestion.

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Two practical notes matter at home. Basil seeds (tokhm-e sharbati) aren't chia. They're cooling and belong in summer drinks. And tear the fresh leaves rather than chopping them, since bruising releases the aromatic oils with less oxidation.

What Else to Know

Rayhān, or Persian basil, is an everyday household herb with a deeper, more clove-like scent than Italian basil. It anchors the sabzi-khordan plate (the fresh herb platter served at Persian meals) and finds its way into summer salads and stews.

Known to botanists as Ocimum basilicum.

The leaves carry antioxidant flavonoids (a family of protective plant compounds) and are a source of vitamin K.