Bunium persicum, also called black caraway or kala zeera, is a spice made from the small dark seeds of a plant native to the mountains of Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and parts of Central Asia. It's used whole or ground in rice dishes, stews, and marinades, especially in Middle Eastern, Persian, and Central Asian cooking, often alongside cumin, coriander, or cardamom, and has an earthy, nutty, faintly bitter flavor. It's sometimes labeled "black cumin" in English, a name it shares with Nigella sativa (nigella/kalonji), an unrelated plant with a sharper, more peppery flavor -- the two are easy to confuse when shopping by that name alone.