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Ajowan
(redirected from Ajwain)

   Also found in: Medical, Wikipedia 0.01 sec.
Ajowan 

(Trachyspermum), a genus of plants of the Urn-belliferae family. About 20 species of ajowan flourish in Africa and Asia. The fragrant ajowan (azhgon and Indian caraway—Latin names, Trachyspermum ammi and Carum ajowan) is an annual plant which is the strain of greatest commercial interest. The stalk stands erect and is ramose. The leaves are bipinnatifid or tripinnatifid, with finely cut distal lobules. The plant has small, white or violet flowers in a complex umbel. The fruits are small and ovate and have a strong characteristic fragrance and a somewhat rough texture because of numerous bladder-like patillae. The natural homeland of the fragrant ajowan is India, where it has been cultivated for a long time. In addition, it is cultivated in North Africa, East Africa, Argentina, Iran, Afghanistan, and Asia Minor, and since 1934 in the USSR (in Middle Asia) for the production of essential oils. Its fruits contain 2.5–10 percent essential oil, 15–30 percent fatty oil, and about 15 percent proteins. The essential oil contains up to 50 percent thymol, which has strong antiseptic properties.

REFERENCE

Atlas lekarstvennykh rastenii SSSR. Moscow, 1962.


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A host of less-familiar flavorings and spices are moving in from the fringe: harissa (the Tunisian paste of dried red chiles, garlic, cumin, mint, cinnamon, coriander, caraway, salt and olive oil), zhoug or zhug (a Yemen paste of cilantro, green chiles, garlic, cardamom, black pepper and olive oil), chaat masala (a hot-sour spice blend of black salt, green mango powder, cumin, coriander, chiles, asafetida and ajwain, and so much more.
500g besan (aka, chickpea or gram) flour 2 tsp ajwain seeds 1 tsp chilli powder tsp black peppercorns, coarsely ground tsp asafoetida 2 tbsp fresh coriander, finely chopped 1 tomato, skinned, seeded and chopped 1 small onion, grated 250ml water Salt Vegetable oil, for shallow frying Sift the flour into a bowl, then add all the other ingredients except the oil and whisk to a smooth batter.
In the ancient Ayurvedic texts of the Indian subcontinent, herbs and spices such as turmeric, ginger, ajwain (a kind of caraway), pepper, and basil are mentioned as cures for many ills.
 
 
 
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