Saturday 4 June 2011

Beloved Basil

I’ve always felt that many Hindu rituals are simply good eco-conservation practices. In the old days, Hindus regarded snakes, mice and monkeys as God’s incarnation. So even today, despite the menace these creatures can be, we’ve learnt to love them or at the very least, tolerate them. The early morning practice of  rice flour kolams in front of our homes, which attracted sparrows and insects, was another such eco-sensitive tradition. Many of these traditions are fast going out of fashion. Yet, one of them is very much alive: the tradition of worshiping the Tulsi or Holy Basil plant. Though I am not a Tulsi worshiper myself, I still revere it for its amazing healing properties
Basil Seedlings
Here is my Tulsi plant. It is the Krishna Tulsi variety with dark, purplish leaves.
Krishna Tulsi: In the Sun
Here is another picture of the same species. Owing to its bright green leaves, you might assume it is the Rama Tulsi

Krishna Tulsi: In the Shade
Would you believe it, if I told you that in truth, both plants belong to exactly the same species and are exactly the same age. In fact, both plants are from the same batch of seeds that I germinated. The first plant sits in the sun. The second one, which I offered as a seedling to a neighbor, sits in the shade. This is a remarkable example of how the duration of sunshine can affect a plant’s appearance and growth so markedly. My neighbor, however, suspects that I’m treating my plant with some secret potion!
The Real "Rama Tulsi"
Ayurveda attributes so many curative properties to Tulsi. So I’m not surprised when Indians take it to ward off all kinds of ailments:  colds, swine flu, stress, headaches, stomach aches, skin infections, etc, etc.  But I was surprised to hear an Iranian restaurateur strongly recommending Tulsi seeds for health reasons. She revealed this as she offered us a most delightful drink of guava juice sprinkled with plenty of tulsi seeds soaked in barley water.
Tulsi Flowers and Seeds
Speaking of Basil, here is a picture of my Sweet Basil.  Eight out of Ten omelets in my house are made with sweet basil, so you can imagine how much I love this herb. As for homemade pizzas and pasta, I can't imagine them without this herb.
Sweet Basil
Chennai's climate is absolutely ideal for Basil. Other than having to pinch off its flowers (to encourage branching), there’s nothing I really need to do to keep my Basil happy and growing.

15 comments:

  1. I'm a fan of Basil too - the sweet type, which we use in Mediterrasnean-style dishes. Our climate is usually not warm enough for Basil to do well outdoors, so I grow it in pots on my Dining-Room windowsill. We harvest it when it is at its best and make it into pesto, which we then freeze in ice-cube trays for later use. Recently I have taken to using tiny Basil seedlings as miocrogreens. They are delicious like that - so intensely-flavoured!

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  2. I love pesto too. With plenty of basil at my disposal, I ought to make some pesto. I didn't know that pesto can be frozen. Thanks for the tip.

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  3. Loved going through your post, Anita. When my sons were young (they are 19&16 now), their first medicine was the tulsi. The juice mixed with honey took care of the common cold. I have the Ram tulsi but I have never grown the Sweet Basil. BTW, your fifth photo is gorgeous!

    There are other varieties of basil grown in our region. They are pungent and go well with dry fish preparations. Unfortunately, I don't know their scientific names.

    I hope you'll check out this blog too!

    Kanak

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  4. Hi Anita, great post! I need to expand the herbs I have growing in my gardens (and then remember to use them in cooking dishes) Sweet basil is something I'd like to get, it looks like it is thriving for you!

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  5. Yes, what a difference the amount of sun makes. I am finding the same with the amount of water given in the desert. Thanks for being a follower of my blog.

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  6. I just planted my favorite herb - sweet basil. I love it on just about everything - pizza, salad, burgers, etc. I use lots of it. Enjoyed looking over your blog and past postings. For me it is a joy to learn of others from places I have never been. Each month I pick one or two more sites to follow that I think will give me that "world" experience, so today I am picking you. Jack

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  7. Just got back from a trip. Will blog about that later. Thank you all for your comments.
    Kanak, your Nature Rambles blog is beautiful. I loved the picture of the red dragonfly.

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  8. Hi Anita, Lovely blog u've got here and the I can just imagine the joy that u must get from this beautiful garden u've got here..the pictures are a feast for the eyes :) If u don't mind though I have a question to ask,where in chennai can u find seeds/pot of sweet basil,I'm trying to grow a mini herb garden since I love fresh Herbs,but haven't found sweet basil anywhere..would love it if u could point me in the right direction, keep up ur lovely work and thanks for the world of info u've given out here :)

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    1. First of all sorry for the delayed response. You can't find basil in Chennai nurseries, but if want it, please mail me directly and I could give you the details of how to get it.
      Thank you for your appreciative words. It really makes me glad to know that you've gained something from it.

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  9. hi,
    can i know where to get sweet basil seeds in chennai ?

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    1. Hi Lakshmikanthan, Please email me for details on how to get basil seeds. (You can find my email id on my profile.)

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  10. hi anita i am waiting for my sweet basil seedlings to come up
    i got the seeds from england planted them day before in chennai
    i see tiny seedlings i have kept them in the shade in our courtyard
    hwn should i repot them //pls do let me know

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    1. Hi, Once the seedlings have formed their first set of true leaves(not the first leaves) and are a little sturdy, you could transplant them. And keep them in the sun as quickly as possible. Basil love sunlight.

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  11. hi can anyone tell me where to find sweet basil plant or seeds to grow in Chennai

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    1. I personally don't know of any nursery that stocks basil seeds in Chennai. You may find it easier to get them in nurseries in Bangalore.

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