Cumin seed are used as an ingredient in some pickles and pastries. Cumin in grounded form also forms part of various spicy mixtures, most important being ‘Garam masala’ which are used to add pungent flavors to the dishes and cuisines. It is globally popular and an essential flavoring in many cuisines. In Ayurvedic system of medicine, dried Cumin seeds are used for medicinal purposes. It is used in different forms like kashaya (decoction), arishta (fermented decoction) and vati (tablet/pills).

Jeera is grown as a Rabi crop in India and it is also grown well in sub-tropical climate too. Generally jeera crop takes about 120-125 days to reach maturity level. Harvesting of jeera is done in the month of February-March. Jeera crop is highly sensitive to rain, if rain occurs during harvesting time (February to March) quality of the Jeera will be badly affected besides quantity damage (due to fungal diseases).