The seeds of a plant native to India. It has a strong taste of thyme and is used extensively in India in savory dishes.
Ajwain (also known as Carom, Ajowan, Bishop's Weed and Seeds Of Bishop's Weed), is an uncommon spice except in certain areas of Asia. It is the small seed-like fruit of the Bishop's Weed plant, (Trachyspermum ammi syn. Carum copticum), egg-shaped and grayish in colour. The plant has a similarity to parsley.
Ajwain is often confused with lovage seed; even some dictionaries mistakenly state that ajwain comes from the lovage plant
Raw ajwain smells almost exactly like thyme because it also contains thymol, but is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. It tastes like thyme or caraway, only stronger. Even a small amount of raw ajwain will completely dominate the flavor of a dish.
In Indian cuisine, ajwain is almost never used raw, but either dry-roasted or fried in ghee. This develops a much more subtle and complex aroma, somewhat similar to caraway but "brighter". It is used for making a type of paratha, called 'ajwain ka paratha'. Jay
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