The market · Spices · South Asia, The Middle East

Ajwain

Tiny seeds related to cumin and caraway that taste powerfully of thyme. Used in fried snacks, breads and batters across north India for flavour and, by tradition, digestion.

thyme-like · sharp · bitter

What to do with it

Classics built on it
PunjabiAmritsari kulchaA leavened flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, pressed with coriander seed, slapped onto the wall of a tandoor and served dripping with butter beside chole.No one here has made it yetPunjabiAmritsari fishWhite fish in a gram-flour batter sharp with ajwain, chilli and lemon, deep-fried crisp and eaten hot with chaat masala and chutney.No one here has made it yetGujaratiUndhiyuA winter medley of flat beans, purple yam, sweet potato, baby aubergine and plantain, slow-cooked with fenugreek dumplings and a green masala of coconut and coriander.No one here has made it yetGujaratiTheplaThin, soft flatbreads of wholewheat flour kneaded with fresh fenugreek, yoghurt and spice, cooked on a griddle with a little oil.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDal dhokliPieces of spiced wholewheat dough simmered in a sweet-sour toor dal with peanuts, jaggery and lemon — a whole meal in one pot.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniDal baati churmaHard, round wheat breads baked in the coals and soaked in ghee, eaten with a spiced mixed dal and churma — the same dough crushed with ghee and sugar.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniGatte ki sabziDumplings of spiced gram flour, boiled and sliced, then simmered in a tangy yoghurt gravy.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniBikaneri bhujiaCrisp, thin threads of moth-bean and gram-flour dough, spiced with black pepper and ajwain and fried in oil.No one here has made it yet

If you can't find it

Indian grocers, as carom seed.

  1. 1Thyme
    Dried thyme with a pinch of cumin seed
    You lose the sharp, almost medicinal edge.

Goes with

gram flourpotatofishatta

Knowing it

Where to buy
Indian grocers, sometimes labelled carom seed. A little lasts a long time.
Worth knowing
Crush the seeds lightly between your fingers as they go in, and use far less than you'd guess — half a teaspoon flavours a batter.

Kitchens that keep it in

Gujarat — western India, on the Arabian SeaGujaratiSweet, sour and gently hot: a largely vegetarian kitchen of gram flour, jaggery and buttermilk, of steamed and fried snacks, and a thali with a little of everything.9 classics

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