What about tokhm-e sharbati (basil seeds)?

Soaked basil seeds form a gentle gel that's hydrating, mildly cooling, and rich in fiber — a Persian summer drink ingredient.

Chapter 1 of 14

Persian Basil

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.

Basil is the Persian table herb, fresh sprigs at almost every meal. Tradition reads it as warm, dry and aromatic, and credits the same handful with lifting the spirits and waking up digestion.

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

Rayhān — Persian basil — is a household herb with a deeper, more clove-like fragrance than Italian basil. It anchors the sabzi-khordan plate and is woven through summer salads and stews.

Known to botanists as Ocimum basilicum.