Ajwain in english and hindi: carom seeds names in indian languages

In one line: Hindi ajwan; Punjabi, Assamese and Urdu ajwain; Marathi onva; Gujarati ajmo; Bengali joan; Odia juani; Kannada oma; Telugu vamu; Tamil omum; Malayalam ayamothakam; Sanskrit ajamoda. IFCT 2017 is the source of every name in the table, recorded under food code G029.

Where Indian shops spell a name differently, the table keeps that spelling as a footnote: ajwain for Hindi, ova for Marathi, jowan for Bengali, vaamu for Telugu and omam for Tamil are spelling variants of the names IFCT prints. The English column is in three parts: IFCT 2017 records the food as omum, and Wikipedia's ajwain article adds the spellings carom and ajowan.

Source: IFCT 2017 (ICMR-NIN) local-names list. — means no name recorded in the source.

English ‘Carom’: Wikipedia: Ajwain. English ‘Ajowan’: Wikipedia: Ajwain. Hindi ‘Ajwain’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Ajwan’. Marathi ‘Ova’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Onva’. Bengali ‘Jowan’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Joan’. Telugu ‘Vaamu’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Vamu’. Tamil ‘Omam’: spelling variant of the IFCT 2017 name ‘Omum’.

The English name for ajwain is carom seeds. The botanical name, printed in IFCT 2017, is Trachyspermum ammi, and the same tables record the food under the English name omum; Wikipedia's article on the seed lists carom and ajowan among its English names, so the three words point to the one seed. Whatever the pack says, ajwain, carom seeds, ajowan and omum are one spice.

One quirk is worth knowing: the English column and the Tamil column of IFCT 2017 both print omum, so omum is one word for the seed in two languages. The botanical name does not change with the language: Trachyspermum ammi is the one botanical name printed for the seed.

Ajwain in Hindi is ajwan in IFCT 2017, and ajwain is the common spelling. Punjabi, Assamese and Urdu all print ajwain, the same word Hindi uses in its common spelling, so four languages share one spelling. The Sanskrit entry is ajamoda. The same seed's uses, from tempering to parathas to the overnight water, are covered on the how to use carom seeds page.

Ajwain in Gujarati is ajmo, the name IFCT 2017 prints, so ajmo in English is carom seeds under its western Indian name. In Marathi the seed is onva, commonly written ova, and the table keeps both spellings with a footnote. Ajwain in Gujarati and Marathi is therefore ajmo and onva. Gujarati and Marathi are the two western languages IFCT 2017 records for this spice.

Ajwain in Tamil is omum, the name IFCT 2017 prints, commonly written omam; ajwain in Telugu is vamu, often written vaamu; in Kannada the seed is oma, and in Malayalam ayamothakam. Tamil is the one southern language whose name matches the English column, which prints omum as well. For contrast, the cumin names in the same list are jeerakam in Tamil and jeelakarra in Telugu, so in Tamil and Telugu the two seeds have clearly different names.

Three mix-ups keep coming up in shops and in searches.

• Ajwain vs jeera: two different seeds. IFCT 2017 records cumin with jira in Hindi, jeerakam in Tamil and jeelakarra in Telugu, against ajwain's ajwan, omum and vamu. A jar labelled jeera holds cumin; a jar labelled ajwain holds carom.
• Ajwain vs oregano and thyme: ajwain is the seed Trachyspermum ammi, and oregano and thyme are different plants whose names appear nowhere in ajwain's IFCT 2017 name list. A 2014 review in Phytotherapy Research names thymol and carvacrol among the plant's components. The plants are not the same.
• Omum vs ajwain: not a difference at all. Omum is the English and Tamil entry for the same seed, so omum, carom and ajwain are one spice.

COWBERRY's ajwain is grown in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where the arid climate and mineral-rich soil suit the crop, cleaned and packed whole, and sold as organic ajwain seeds in 100 g and 250 g packs. To cook with the seed, begin with the ajwain roti recipe or the how to use carom seeds page; for its nutrition, benefits and side effects, the ajwain hub ties the whole picture together.

What is ajwain called in english?

Carom seeds. The botanical name is Trachyspermum ammi, and IFCT 2017 records the food under the English name omum, while Wikipedia's ajwain article adds carom and ajowan as English names. All of these, carom seeds, ajowan and omum, are the one seed sold in India as ajwain.

Is ajwain and oregano same?

No. Ajwain is the seed Trachyspermum ammi, recorded under food code G029 in IFCT 2017, and oregano is a different plant whose name does not appear among ajwain's recorded names, nor does thyme's. A 2014 review in Phytotherapy Research lists thymol and carvacrol among the plant's components. The plants are not the same, and a recipe that calls for oregano does not mean ajwain.

What is carom seeds in hindi?

Ajwain. IFCT 2017 prints the Hindi name as ajwan, and ajwain is the everyday spelling, the one Punjabi, Assamese and Urdu share. In Gujarati the same seed is ajmo, in Marathi onva, in Tamil omum and in Telugu vamu, one seed with many words, all listed in the table above.

Which is carom seeds?

Carom seeds are the spice sold in Indian shops as ajwain, the seed of Trachyspermum ammi that goes into tempering, parathas and ajwain water. If a recipe or a kitchen habit asks for carom seeds, it means this one seed: jeera (cumin) is a different seed, and oregano is a different plant.

What is ajwain?

Ajwain is an Indian seed spice, Trachyspermum ammi, known in English as carom seeds and used in tempering, in parathas and in the drink ajwain water. IFCT 2017 records the seed under food code G029 with names in 13 Indian languages. Its per-100 g figures are on the carom seeds nutritional value per 100g page.