Perilla Seeds: The Quiet Northeast Indian Ingredient With More Omega-3 Than Salmon

If you've spent any time in a Khasi kitchen in Meghalaya, you've probably eaten perilla seeds without knowing it. They go by nei lieh locally — a small dark seed, roasted, ground, mixed with chillies and salt into a chutney that sits next to the rice. Outside the Northeast, the seed is more familiar from Korean and Japanese kitchens, where the leaves of the same plant (Perilla frutescens) are used in cooking and the seeds get pressed for oil.

What's interesting about perilla, and the reason it's worth knowing about, is the fat profile. By weight, perilla seeds are around 38–45% oil, and that oil is roughly 55–65% alpha-linolenic acid — the plant-based omega-3 fatty acid. That's a higher concentration of ALA than flaxseed, chia, or hemp. Significantly higher than walnuts. Per gram, perilla seeds deliver more of this particular nutrient than most of the foods that are sold specifically as omega-3 sources.

So the question is: does that actually matter to your body? Worth pausing here, because the omega-3 conversation is one of the more confusing parts of plant-based nutrition.

What omega-3 actually means

"Omega-3" isn't one compound — it's a family of three. Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is the plant form, found in seeds, nuts, and some leafy greens. EPA and DHA are the longer-chain forms found mostly in fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel) and in algae.

The body needs EPA and DHA for most of the things omega-3s are credited with — brain function, anti-inflammatory effects, cardiovascular health. It can produce small amounts of EPA and DHA from ALA, but the conversion is inefficient: most research puts it at around 5–15% conversion to EPA and 0.5–5% conversion to DHA, with significant individual variation.

This is the bit that fish-oil advocates use to dismiss plant-based omega-3 sources. The argument goes: if your body only converts 5% of plant ALA to the form it can actually use, isn't it more efficient to just eat fish?

It's a fair point, with a counter-point. ALA isn't just useful as a precursor to EPA — it has independent benefits in its own right, particularly for cardiovascular health and inflammatory markers. Multiple meta-analyses have found ALA intake is associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular events, separate from any EPA conversion. And for vegetarians and people who don't eat fish (a large slice of the Indian population), perilla, flax, and walnuts are genuinely useful daily inputs even at the lower conversion ratio.

Translation: perilla seeds are not a substitute for fish if you have specific reasons to be taking EPA/DHA. They are a genuinely good plant omega-3 source, more concentrated than the alternatives, and worth eating regularly if you're vegetarian or you'd rather not eat fish.

The Khasi tradition

In Meghalaya, perilla seeds are part of the everyday spice rack, not a wellness product. They're roasted dry, ground (often with chilli and salt), and used as a chutney or a sprinkle over rice and meat. The Khasi name nei lieh translates loosely to "black seeds." The plant grows well in the cool hills around Shillong, and small-farm cultivation has been continuous for generations.

The traditional preparation is the closest thing to a "correct" daily use: a tablespoon of roasted perilla seeds, hand-pounded with a piece of dried red chilli and a pinch of salt, eaten with rice. About 10g of seeds, which translates to roughly 2g of ALA — close to a useful daily dose by most plant-based omega-3 recommendations.

What perilla seeds are not

A few honest caveats, because the wellness industry tends to oversell these things:

Not a cure. Like turmeric, perilla seeds are a mild but reliable input — helpful in the context of an otherwise reasonable diet, not a substitute for medication or for fixing serious nutritional gaps.

Not a complete replacement for fish if you have specific EPA/DHA needs. If a doctor has told you to take omega-3 for cardiovascular reasons after a heart event, follow their advice. Perilla seeds are a daily food, not a clinical intervention.

Not weight-loss food. They're dense in fat (which is the point) — around 540 kcal per 100g. A tablespoon is a portion. Eating handfuls because they're "healthy" is the same mistake people make with almonds and ghee.

How we source them

The perilla seeds in our Adviah range are sourced from small Khasi family farms around Shillong, sun-dried, cleaned, and packed within months of harvest. ₹299 for 100g, which at a tablespoon a day is about a three-week supply.

For more on the broader food culture they come from, the Meghalaya primer is here. And for practical instructions on how to actually cook with them — including the Khasi chutney — see the cooking note.