Skip to content
FriendsPantry
Cumin seeds

Spices & seasonings · Whole spices

Cumin seeds

Whole cumin seeds, crackled in hot oil for tadka or dry-roasted and ground for a toasty flavour.

Also called: whole cumin, jeera seeds, zeera

A kind of cumin

70 recipes with it

Read the full spice guide: flavour, history and how to use it

Photo: Misterneedlemouse, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0-1.0)

What it is

Cumin seeds are the whole, slim, ridged greyish-brown seeds of the cumin plant. Fried in hot ghee or oil they sizzle, darken a shade and release a nutty aroma in seconds; this is the start of countless Indian dishes. Dry-roasted and crushed, they give roasted cumin powder for raita and chaat. Do not confuse with caraway (darker, curved) or nigella (black, angular).

Cuminum cyminum

How it’s used

  • Jeera tadka for dal and jeera rice
  • Starting a curry before the onions
  • Dry-roasted and crushed over raita and chaat
  • Breads, pickles and Mexican rubs

Characteristics

Taste
Nutty and earthy when fried; bitter if burnt.
When cooked
In hot fat it sizzles and turns a shade darker within 10–20 seconds; take it further and it burns and turns bitter.
Sold as
whole, ground
Cooking uses
Used for tempering (tadka), Mainly a seasoning

Storage

Cool, dry and dark. Airtight jar away from light; whole seeds keep their aroma well for a long time.

Diet, allergens and safety

No major allergens in typical versions.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
375 kcal
Protein
17.81 g
Carbohydrate
44.24 g
Fat
22.27 g
Fibre
10.5 g
Sugars
2.25 g

USDA FoodData Central: Spices, cumin seed.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Ground cumin — Use about ¾ the amount, stirred in with the onions rather than fried alone.

Related ingredients

Recipes with cumin seeds

See all 70

58 more

More whole spices