Saunf
Fennel seed, sweet and anise-like, chewed after meals and used in pickles, fish and sweet drinks.
Also: fennel seed, variyali, perunjeeragam, mouri
Saunf is the seed of Foeniculum vulgare, a feathery herb of the Mediterranean now grown worldwide. The seed is pale green, oval and ridged, with a sweet, licorice-like flavour from anethole. Indian restaurants serve sugar-coated or plain saunf as a mouth freshener at the end of a meal. In kitchens it appears in Bengali panch phoron, Kashmiri and Gujarati dishes, pickles and the sweet drink thandai. In Italy fennel seed flavours sausage, and in China it is one of the five-spice components. Lucknow saunf, small and green, is considered the finest in India. Toast lightly to bring out its sweetness.