Cumin is one such spice that forms an integral part of various dishes in the Indian cuisine. Cumin or ‘Jeera’ in Hindi, is basically a tiny seed of an annual plant in the parsley family, native to the Mediterranean. A typical cumin seed has a striped pattern of nine ridges and oil canals. It is brownish in colour and oblong shaped, tapering at each extremity with tiny stalks attached. Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds in appearance. However, they are lighter in colour, hotter to taste, larger in size and unlike caraway, have minute bristles that are hardly visible to the naked eye. The warm and bitter flavor of this aromatic spice as well as its abundant oil content make it usable in Indian, Mexican, North African, Middle Eastern and western Chinese cuisines. In India, cumin seeds are an important component of curry powder and garam masala. They are generally fried or roasted before usage. Cumin seeds are generally available dried or ground to a brownish-green powder.