is a member of the same family as dill, caraway and cumin, and mostly found in Indian cooking (especially suited to the vegetarian dishes from Gujarat).
The plant has a similarity to parsley with small seed-like fruit similar to that of the Bishop's Weed -- egg-shaped and grayish in color.
The seeds are often chewed on their own for medicinal value, tasting bitingly hot and bitter, leaving the tongue numb for a while. Cooking ajwan seeds mellow them somewhat. When crushed, they have a strong and distinctive thyme-like fragrance and a harsh flavor with a bit of a kick, leaving a milder, pleasant aftertaste.