Spice

Carom Seed

A tier

Carom seed is the English trade name shoppers meet on jars of ajwain—same tiny grey-brown fruits, marketed for Anglo and South Asian aisles. The name steers cooks toward potato curries, savoury biscuits, and “digestive” tea blends rather than botanical debate. Quality carom smells sharp and clean, not dusty or cardboard-flat. Bloom a half-teaspoon in oil before onions for aloo sabzi; crush lightly between fingers over cucumber raita when you want heat without chilli. Carom seed labels sometimes mix in exhausted seed—buy from high-turnover spice sellers. Store airtight away from light; the thymol note is volatile once the seed coat is cracked.