The cumin (jeera) is mentioned in the Bible. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans - all appreciated cumin as a culinary and medicinal herb. Even in ancient Indian scriptures about medicinal herbs, it was written about thousands of years ago. Today, cumin is a very popular spice, known around the world, especially in Latin America, North Africa and in almost all of Asia. Cumin is one of the dominant spices in Indian cuisine much like turmeric, coriander and chilli.