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Cumin Seeds:
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Cumin seed or jeera is seeds of flowering plant Cuminum Cyminum . This plant, native of east India and east Mediterranean, belongs to family Apeaceae. The herbaceous plant Cuminum Cyminum grows to a height of 20- 30 cms. Leaves of this plant are pinnate and bear thread like leaflets.
The seeds of Cuminum Cyminum have gained their place as main spice in Indian, African, Chinese, Cuban and Mexican cuisines, due to their distinctive popular aroma. It is mainly used to spice and season variety of dishes like curries,chutneys masalas etc. It is extensively used in India to season dishes. Due to its numerous medicinal properties, jeera is used as an ingredient in many home remedies and ayurvedic preparations. The strong aroma of jeera or cumin seeds is due to the presence of compound cuminaldehyde
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This spice has been praised as jeeraka , jarana and ajaaji for its medicinal qualities in ayurvedic texts. These names refer to its carminative and digestive properties. According ayurvedic principles these seeds balance vata and kapha.
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