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Bishop's Weed (Trachyspermum amoni) Ajwain
Bishop's Weed Spices: Bishop's Weed is an aromatic spice with a wondrous flavor. Traditionally, India has been one of the most important sources of Bishop's Weed with Rajasthan and Gujarat as the main producing regions. Roasting or frying in combination with potatoes or fish enhances the strong aroma of Bishop's Weed. Legumes (lentils, beans) are however the most important field of application; in India. In South Indian cuisine (which is predominantly vegetarian), tadka (frying in butter or ghee) of preparations are not only applied to dried legumes but also to green vegetables and boiled rice. ....more..>>

Bishop's Weed Health: Ajwain is much used as a medical plant in ayurvedic medicine (India) to help against diseases of the digestive tract and fever. Bishop’s weed is a valuable herb in the treatment of diarrhea, dysentery, atonic dyspepsia, cholera, colic, flatulence and indigestion. For relieving flatulence, dyspepsia and spasmodic disorder. Bishop’s weed is known to ayurveda since the very beginning and is included in most of the carminative mixtures because of its carminative properties. It was known to old greek medicine as well and is included in greek carminative formulas since then. ....more..>> TOP

Description
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. The small, caraway-like fruits. These are sometimes mislabelled as lovage seed, although the fruits of lovage are, to my knowledge, not traded at all.

Origin and Distribution
Eastern Mediterranean, maybe Egypt. The main cultivation areas today are Persia and India, but the spice is of little importance in global trade. Ajwain can be grown in Central European climate. It is not cultivated as a commercial crop in India.

USES

Raw ajwain smells almost exactly like thyme because it also contains thymol, but is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. It tastes like thyme or caraway, only stronger. Even a small amount of raw ajwain will completely dominate the flavor of a dish. In Indian cuisine, ajwain is almost never used raw, but either dry-roasted or fried in ghee or oil. This develops a much more subtle and complex aroma, somewhat similar to caraway but "brighter". Among other things, it is used for making a type of paratha, called 'ajwain ka paratha'.

Botanical name	Family name	Commercial part
Trachyspermum amoni (L.) Sprague	Apiaceae	Fruit

Indian Name
Hindi	: Ajowan
Bengali	: Jowan or Joan
Gujarati	: Yavan
Kannada	: Oma
Kashmiri	: Jawind
Malayalam	: Omum
Marathi	: Onva
Oriya	: Juani
Punjabi	: Ajamoda, Avanika
Sanskrit	: Ajamoda, Avanika
Tamil	: Omum
Telugu	: Vamu
Urdu	: Ajowain

Name in international languages

Latin	: Trachy Spermum Ammi
Persian	: Zinian, Nankhwah
Arabic	: Kamme Muluki
German	: Adiowan, Ajowan, Königskümmel, Indischer Kümmel
French	: Ajowan
English	: Carom, Ajowan, Bishop’s Weed, Ajwan; falsely lovage seeds
Further Reading: Sensory quality: Similar to thyme, but stronger and less subtle. Main constituents: The essential oil (2.5 to 5% in the dried fruits) is dominated by thymol (2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol, 35 to 60%); furthermore, a-pinene, p-cymene, limonene and ?-terpinene have been found. In the essential oil distilled from aerial parts (flowers, leaves) of ajwain grown in Algeria, however, isothymol (50%) was found to be the dominant constituent before p-cymene, thymol, limonene and ?-terpinene. Note, however, that the name isothymol is not well defined and might refer to both 2-isopropyl-4-methylphenol and 3-isopropyl-6-methylphenol (carvacrol). (Journal of Essential Oil Research,? 15, 39, 2003) From South Indian ajwain fruits, almost pure thymol has been isolated (98%), but the leaf oil was found to be composed of monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids: 43% cadinene, 11% longifolene, 5% thymol, 3% camphor and others. Ajwain usage is almost confined to Central Asia and Northern India, particularly the North West (Punjab, Gujarat). It is also part of the Bihari and Nepali variant of panch phoran (see nigella). The strong aroma is enhanced by toasting or frying and goes well with potatoes or fish. Legumes (lentils, beans) are, however, the most important field of application; in India, where these vegetables are popular since they provide a source of protein to the many vegetarians, they are commonly flavoured with a perfumed butter frequently containing ajwain. This seemingly simple preparation is much more sophisticated than sheer heat treatment, since most aroma compounds in spices are lipophilic and dissolve much better in fat than in water. Thus, frying in butter not only enhances the fragrance because of the high temperature, but also extracts the flavour to the fat, whence it can be dispersed throughout the food efficiently. A typical recipe for lentils would run as follows: First, the dried and washed lentils are cooked until tender with turmeric being the only spice added. This lentil puree is then flavoured using salt and a so-called tadka or tarka, a mixture of spices fried in butter fat (clarified butter, ghi): Cumin, dill and ajwain seeds are fried until they turn brown and evolve a strong aroma; then garlic or asafetida and possibly grated ginger are added and after some more frying the tadka is poured over the cooked lentils. Celery fruits are also very suited for that procedure, albeit not very Indian. See chives for a Nepali variant. In Southern Indian cuisine (which has a large treasure of vegetarian recipes), tadka-like preparations are not only applied to dried legumes, but also to green vegetables and boiled rice. Most popular for this purpose are black mustard seeds which are fried until they stop popping and curry leaves, which are fried for but a few seconds. Besides clarified butter, coconut fat is common. Outside of the Indian subcontinent, ajwain is not much used. It enjoys, however, some popularity in the Arabic world and is found in berbere, a spice mixture of Ethiopia which both shows Indian and Arabic heritage (see long pepper). Ajwain is much used as a medical plant in Ayurvedic medicine (India). Mainly, it helps against diseases of the digestive tract and fever. In India, where any amount of tap water can result in arbitrary complications, ajwain often comes to the traveller’s rescue: Just chew one spoonful of the fruits for a few minutes and wash down with hot water. In the West, thymol is used in medicines against cough and throat irritation.