Cookbook:Ajwain

Ajwain or Ajowan Caraway (botanical name of Trachyspermum copticum as from the ITIS Standard Report Page) (also known as Ajowan caraway, carom seeds or mistakenly as bishop's weed), is an uncommon spice except in certain areas of Asia. It is the small seed-like fruit similar to that of the Bishop's Weed (Ammi majus) plant, egg-shaped and grayish in colour. The plant has a similarity to parsley. Because of their seed-like appearance, the fruit pods are sometimes called ajwain seeds or mistakenly as bishop's weed (Ammi majus) seeds (Botanical Synonyms for Ajwain, which are no longer accepted by ITIS are, Ammi copticum, Carum copticum, Trachyspermum ammi).

Ajwain is often confused with lovage seed; even some dictionaries mistakenly state that ajwain comes from the lovage plant. Ajwain is also called 'owa' in Marathi, 'vaamu' or Oma in Telugu, "omam" (ஓமம்) in Tamil, "ajwana" in Kannada, "ajmo" (અજમો) in GujaratiGujarati, "jowan" in Bengali and "asamodagam" in Singhalese.

Source

• "Ajwain." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 31 Dec 2008, 17:44 UTC. 2 Jan 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ajwain&oldid=261123977>.