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Trachyspermum ammi
Also called Ajowan caraway, Ajowan, Ethiopian Caraway, Bishop's Weed, Kummel
Ajwain is a small annual herb in the carrot family grown mainly for its aromatic, seed-like fruits used as a spice, though its leaves are also eaten. It is grown in dry, warm regions and needs sun and well-drained soil to produce its fruits.
Ajwain or ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) () —also known as ajowan caraway,
thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. Both the leaves and the seed‑like fruit (often mistakenly called seeds) of the plant are consumed by humans. The name "bishop's weed" also is a common name for other plants. The "seed" (i.e., the fruit) is often confused with lovage seed.
Ajwain grows in dry, barren soil in its indigenous regions of India, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and parts of northern Africa. Gujarat and Rajasthan are regions in India well-known for cultivating ajwain.
The fruits are rarely eaten raw; they are commonly dry-roasted or fried in ghee (clarified butter). This allows the spice to develop a more subtle and complex aroma. It is widely used in the cuisine of the Indian subcontinent, often as part of a chaunk (also called a tarka), a mixture of spices – sometimes with a little chopped garlic or onion – fried in oil or clarified butter, which is used to flavor a dish at the end of cooking. In Afghanistan, the fruits are sprinkled over bread and biscuits.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ajwain by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
