what is asafoetida?

It's a resin taken from the rhizome/root of Ferula asafoetida. The resin can be converted into a
powder or compound which isn't as strong as pure asafoetida. It's used throughout the world as a
spice. It's most commonly used in Indian and Persian cooking in place of garlic and onion. It is
*VERY* strong (a little goes a long way), and it's also known as Devil's Dung (one whiff and you'll
know why) and Hing or Hingra (in Indian and Paki markets).

Hi Jennifer,

Asafoetida is a highly aromatic (rather smelly most would say ;-)) Indian spice.. here's a link with
a very thorough explanation:

theepicentre.comasafetid.htmlOpen ↗

It's used fairly sparingly, an amount the size of a pea is about as much as you need. It's also good
to fry the powder in oil before adding your veg/lentils/etc. so that the resin is able to break down
properly and permeate the whole dishe equally. If you buy some, be sure to store it in an air tight
container or else your whole kitchen will come to smell of it :-).

Cheers,

Fritz

T5NF <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Hi Jennifer,

Asafoetida is a highly aromatic (rather smelly most would say ;-)) Indian spice.. here's a link
with a very thorough explanation:

theepicentre.comasafetid.htmlOpen ↗

It's used fairly sparingly, an amount the size of a pea is about as much

as you

Quoted message said:

need. It's also good to fry the powder in oil before adding your veg/lentils/etc. so that the
resin is able to break down properly and

permeate

Quoted message said:

the whole dishe equally. If you buy some, be sure to store it in an air

tight

Quoted message said:

container or else your whole kitchen will come to smell of it :-).

Cheers,

Fritz

You're right. I store mine in an airtight jar inside another airtight jar and I still have to stand
well back when I open the spice cupboard!! (^!^) :o)

Rotten onions and old socks is a good description! Doesn't half bring out the flavour of the other
ingredients though. The only thing that pongs worse is the Penicillin I have to take every day
because I'm short of spleens to the tune of one!

Apparently there's a small town in India where Asafoetida is processed and you can smell the town
seven miles away!!!

And Drummond Street in London you can smell 300 metres away! :o) Damned good restaurants down there.

Other less well-known spices that add authenticity are Ajwain (Lovage seeds), Onion seeds, Black
Cardamoms (taste like Dettol!) and curry leaves. The last one seems obvious but I'm always surprised
at the number of people who don't use them.

Nemo (Why do I feel like I'm being followed?)