What does ajowan mean?
Ajowan is the common English name for an annual herb of the parsley family, Trachyspermum ammi, cultivated widely across India, Pakistan, and neighbouring regions, and for the small dried fruits — usually called seeds — that it produces. Those seeds are a staple spice of South Asian kitchens, where they are fried briefly in hot oil or ghee at the start of a dish to release their intense, penetrating aroma. Because the essential oil of ajowan is rich in thymol, the same compound found in thyme, its flavour is often described as thyme-like but hotter and more biting. Beyond cooking, the seeds have long featured in traditional South Asian remedies for indigestion, and ajowan oil remains a commercial source of thymol. In English usage the word appears chiefly in recipes, spice catalogues, and botanical references, frequently alongside its close variant 'ajwain', which many cooks now consider the standard spelling.
nounAn annual aromatic plant (Trachyspermum ammi) of the parsley family, native to South Asia, whose small seed-like fruits are used as a pungent spice with a flavour resembling thyme.
- The spice made from the dried seed-like fruits of Trachyspermum ammi, used especially in Indian cooking and medicine.
- The plant Trachyspermum ammi itself.
"She sprinkled a pinch of ajowan into the sizzling ghee to release its thyme-like aroma."
"The flatbread was studded with ajowan seeds that crackled pleasantly between the teeth."
"A few crushed ajowan seeds lent the lentil dish a sharp, thyme-like warmth."
Rarely pluralised in practice; the spice is normally referred to collectively as 'ajowan seeds'.
"The market stall sold ajowans by the sack alongside cumin and fennel."
Ajowan tastes like thyme because it is packed with the very same oil — thymol — that gives thyme its kick.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of ajowan
Ajowan entered English in the early nineteenth century from Hindi, where the corresponding word is ajvāin, itself ultimately traceable to Sanskrit sources describing the plant as having come from regions associated with Greek traders — hence terms built on 'Yavana' (foreigner, Greek). The closely related spelling 'ajwain' derives from the same Hindi word and is now the more widespread form in Britain. The name thus reflects the spice's movement along trade routes from South Asia into European commerce and cookery.
How ajowan is actually used
Mostly encountered in culinary and botanical writing; the spelling variant 'ajwain' is more common in everyday British usage, while 'ajowan' appears more often in older and American reference works.
Easily confused with ajowan
Ajowan seeds are smaller and paler than cumin and taste sharply of thyme rather than earthy cumin.
Caraway has a sweeter, anise-like flavour, whereas ajowan is hot and thyme-flavoured due to its high thymol content.