Jeera
The Hindi word for cumin, the small ridged seed that anchors dry-spice cooking from India to Mexico.
Also: zeera, jira, cumin, safed jeera
Jeera is cumin, the seed of Cuminum cyminum, a small annual of the parsley family. Its flavour is warm, earthy and slightly bitter, with a sharp edge from the aldehyde that gives it its signature smell. In Indian cooking whole seeds are crackled in hot oil as the first step of many dishes, and the ground, toasted seed goes into raita, chaat and garam masala. Cumin is equally central to the cooking of Iran, Morocco, Mexico and northwest China. It is among the oldest cultivated spices, found in ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian sites. India, Syria and Iran are major growers.