Ajwain, carom seed, is a small spice with an outsized personality. Sharp, bitter and closer to thyme than to anything else in the cupboard.

A pinch is a serving. It overwhelms a dish fast if you treat it like cumin.

Work it into paratha and puri dough, add it to besan batter for pakora, use it in pickles, and put it in anything fried where its bite cuts through the oil. It is traditionally eaten after heavy food.

On the spice shelf at Curry Corner in North Melbourne.