Cumin

You will probably recognize these tiny dark brown seeds as one of the pervasive (and perhaps overused) flavor notes in Tex-Mex everything. It can be bought powdered, but a small amount of whole cumin seed will contribute more flavor if you first toast it in a small, heavy dry skillet and then grind it yourself (or crush in a mortar). Toasting also brings out the flavor in recipes where the seed is used whole. The plant, Cuminum cyminum, was brought from the Mediterranean.