Peruncirakam (fennel seeds)

Peruncirakam (பெருஞ்சீரகம்) is one of the Tamil names for fennel seeds – also called sombu (சோம்பு) in the kitchen, and saunf in Hindi. The seed of Foeniculum vulgare looks like a pale green cumin but tastes of aniseed and sweetness, not warmth.

Where ours comes from

Ours is grown around Ooty and Udhagamandalam in the Nilgiris. The seeds are long, thin and pale green when fresh; if they have gone brown-grey, they have lost most of their aroma.

How it is used in South Indian cooking

• After a meal – a pinch chewed on its own, or steeped as sombu thanni, the fennel water served at the end of a Chettinad feast.
• In Chettinad masalas and kurma – roasted with coriander and pepper, where it rounds off the heat.
• In biryani – a teaspoon in the oil with the whole spices.
• In sambar and rasam powders – some Tamil households add it, some do not; it sweetens the blend.

Storing it

Fennel keeps its aroma for about a year in an airtight jar. Crush a few seeds between your fingers before using them: if there is no smell of aniseed, they are past their best.

Buying and cooking

See pack sizes and prices, and the recipe for Sombu thanni (fennel water).