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Trachyspermum roxburghianum
Psammogeton involucratus (radhuni) is an aromatic annual herb in the carrot family grown across South and Southeast Asia, prized mainly for its strong, celery-like dried fruits used as a spice. Growing it for seed is the main goal; the key is warm, sunny conditions and well-drained soil.
Psammogeton involucratus, or radhuni' in Bengali (Bengali: রাধুনি), is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae. It is grown extensively in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Indonesia. Its aromatic dried fruits are often used in Bengali cuisine including that of Bangladesh and West Bengal in India. It is sometimes used as one of the key ingredients of "Panch phoron" replacing the mustard seeds in Indian cuisine. The fresh leaves are used as an herb in Thailand and it is used medicinally in Myanmar and Sri Lanka.
It is a very strong spice, with a characteristic smell similar to parsley and a taste similar to celery. A couple of pinches can easily overpower a curry. In Bengali cuisine the seeds are used whole, quickly fried in very hot oil until they crackle. It is commonly used in the Bengali dish shukto. They are sometimes part of a local panch phoron (Bengali five-spice) mixture replacing black mustard seeds; the other ingredients are cumin seed, fenugreek seed, fennel seed, and nigella seed. In other places, a common use is in pickling or spice mixtures. It is commonly used as an herb for diarrhea, gastritis, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal distention, stomachache related to indigestion, and worm diseases.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Psammogeton involucratus 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.
