Tulsi leaves (holy basil)
तुलसी · துளசி · ತುಳಸಿ · തുളസി
Fresh Produce
Not a cooking herb. The leaves go into kashayams and warm drinks, where they give a clove-like aroma and a clean bitterness.
What to know
The aroma sits in a volatile oil that boils off within a minute or two. Leaves go in at the very end of a decoction, or off the heat entirely with the pot covered.
- Choosing it
- Pick from the plant if there is one in the house, taking mature leaves and leaving the flowering tips, which are the bitterest part.
- Storing it
- Use the day it is picked. Off the stalk the leaves blacken within a day in the fridge.
- If you cannot get it
- Rarely sold as a kitchen herb outside India, and sweet basil is a different plant with a different aroma — it does not stand in. Dried tulsi sold as tea is the nearest thing on a shelf; otherwise omit rather than replace.
Recipes using tulsi leaves
None published yet.