Cumin
Although mostly associated with Indian cuisine, cumin features strongly in Mexican, Moroccan, Persian, Israeli, Palestinian, Turkish and Egyptian cuisines. The aroma of cumin is pungent, warm, earthy, lingering and sweet, and yields a hint of dry peppermint. The flavour is similarly pungent, earthy, slightly bitter, warming and makes one think predominantly of curry.
Ground cumin seed is a coarse-textured, deep-khaki, oily-feeling powder. While to many cooks, cumin may seem to be overtly pungent and tiresomely reminiscent of curries, do keep in mind that its flavour need not dominate. With subtle, judicious application, cumin can be surprisingly effective in balancing and rounding out the bouquet of other spices.
When Herbie was developing the Balmain and Rozelle spice blend, to go with fish and chicken, the flavour felt too harsh, and just did not seem right. With the addition of a small amount of cumin too little for the majority of people to overtly notice, the mix became full-bodied and balanced.