Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) comes from a small flowering herbaceous plant from the Apiaceae or Umbelliferae family, which also includes parsley, fennel and hemlock. The plant, which grows about 1 to 2 feet tall, is actually native to the Middle-East Asian region, but is now grown all over the world.
The aromatic seeds are the part of the plant that's most widely utilized. These cumin "seeds," which are actually the plant's small dried fruits, look very similar to caraway seeds. They're yellow-brown, oblong-shaped and longitudinally ridged. Cumin powder is made from these seeds.
You can actually use both whole and ground cumin seeds, which are both available all year round, for
culinary purposes. FORMS : WHOLE/POWDER