Rajasthan Ajwain – India’s Digestive Powerhouse – 100 g

What it is

• Ajwain gets its character from thymol — the same compound that names thyme
• It carries further than almost anything else in the masala dabba
• A quarter teaspoon changes a whole dough

Test it yourself

• Crush a few seeds between your palms and smell
• Real ajwain is immediately, unmistakably sharp — thyme and something medicinal
• A lookalike smells of nothing

How to use it

• In paratha and puri dough, crushed lightly between the palms first
• In besan batter for pakora — the traditional pairing, and not by accident
• A pinch in dal tadka
• In achaar and namkeen
• Plain after a heavy meal, with a little kala namak