Asafoetida has been an important herb and spice in Indian cooking and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. India has always had to import it from Iran and Afghanistan, where it thrives in their cold climates. A new experimental crop in the cold Lahaul valley may eventually bring this herb home to India while reducing India’s import cost, which currently averages $100 million a year for 1,200 tons.
What Is Asafoetida?
Asafoetida (Ferula asafoetida) is a wild perennial fennel plant that grows up to six feet and has pale greenish-yellow flowers. It takes about five years to reach maturity. It is a strange astringent ingredient with a foul smell due to its high concentration of sulfur compounds, thus giving it names like Devil’s Dung or Hing. There are two main varieties: the more popular Hing Kabuli Sufaid, a sweeter milky white that is water soluble, and Hing Lal, which is red, very bitter, and oil soluble.
The juice of the roots is processed into a resin that is ground into a powder for Indian cooking and medicinal treatments. The pure, full-strength powder is brown; the yellow powder has flour and turmeric added to reduce its strength. Like other Indian spices, asafoetida works best when it is fried in a bit of hot oil, butter, or ghee for several seconds before starting to cook your dish. Once heated, it smells and tastes almost like garlic or leeks. It is commonly used in lentil and vegetable dishes such as yellow dal, poha, yogurt soups, classic rogan josh, and some curries.
Historical Significance
To understand why this herb is so important to the Indian culture, we must look at its history and religious beliefs. Hindus and the Hindu tradition of Jains do not believe in eating garlic, onions, or any of the plants in the Allium family. All these plants are considered too stimulating to the nervous system and major internal organs. The Hindus believe this detracts from focusing on the spiritual life and practices. Ayurvedic medicine also uses garlic to stimulate sexual desires as it is an aphrodisiac and thus is also a distraction from the spiritual life.
