Ajwain

Ajwain or ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi) <ref name=oed>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (Template:IPAc-en) —also known as ajowanTemplate:Nbspcaraway, thymol seeds, bishop's weed, or carom—is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae.<ref name="dhcp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="Green2006">Template:Cite book</ref>

Description

File:Carom.jpg

Ajwain fruit (schizocarps)

Ajwain's small, oval, seed-like fruits are pale brown schizocarps, which resemble the seeds of other plants in the family Apiaceae such as caraway, cumin and fennel.<ref name="drugs">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They have a bitter and pungent taste, with a flavor similar to anise and oregano. They smell like thyme because they also contain thymol, but they are more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as being somewhat bitter and pungent.<ref name=drugs/> Even a small number of fruits tend to dominate the flavor of a dish.<ref name="Green2006" />

Vernacular Names

Trachyspermum ammi, commonly known as Ajwain, is known by different names across India and holds a significant place in culinary and medicinal use.

Language	Vernacular Name	Script
Hindi	Ajwain	अजवाइन
Sanskrit	Yavani	यवानी
Tamil	Omam	ஓமம்
Telugu	Oma	ఓమ
Kannada	Oma	ಓಮ
Malayalam	Ayamodakam	അയമോദകം
Bengali	Jowan	জোয়ান

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Cultivation and production

Ajwain grows in dry, barren soil in its indigenous regions of India, Iran, Afghanistan, and parts of northern Africa.<ref name=drugs/> Gujarat and Rajasthan are regions in India well-known for cultivating ajwain.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Culinary uses

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.<ref name="Davidson2014">Template:Cite book</ref>

Other applications of ajwain include incorporating the seeds in specific types of breads, such as naans and parathas. The seeds can also be used as a mouth freshener when mixed with lemon juice and black pepper, and then dried, or can be used as an ingredient in hot tea.<ref name=drugs/>

In herbalism

Ajwain is used in herbalism practices, such as Ayurveda, in the belief that it can treat various disorders.<ref name=drugs/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> However, there is no good evidence that ajwain is effective as a therapy for treating any disease.<ref name=drugs/>

Adverse effects

Pregnant women should avoid ajwain due to potential adverse effects on fetal development, and its use is discouraged while breastfeeding.<ref name=drugs/> In high amounts taken orally, ajwain can result in fatal poisoning.<ref name=drugs/> People taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or antiplatelet medications are susceptible to adverse effects from ajwain ingestion, as ajwain has anti-clotting activity of its own.<ref name=drugs/>

Essential oil

Hydrodistillation of ajwain fruits yields an essential oil consisting primarily of thymol, γ-terpinene, p-cymene, and more than 20 trace compounds which are predominantly terpenoids.<ref name=drugs/><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>