Description:
This spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment, andin pickles.This spice is used as adigestive aid, in food as a condiment, and in pickles. It typicallyworks as a flavor enhancer and, used along with turmeric, is astandard component of Indian cuisine, particularly in lentilcurries, such as dal, or various ''Pappu'' likedosakaya, mamidikaya or tomato pappu.as well as in numerous vegetable dishes. It is especially widelyused in South Indian and Maharashtrian cuisine, which is mainlyvegetarian, and is often used to harmonize sweet, sour, salty andspicy components in food. It is used to hallmark the taste ofAndhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and TamilNadu sambar, a saucy dish made with cereals andlentils. The spice is added to the food at the timeof Chaunk / Popu/ tadka. Sometimes dried and ground asafoetida(in very mild quantity) can be mixed with salt and eaten with rawsalad. In its pure form, its odour is so strong the aroma willcontaminate other spices stored nearby if it is not stored in anairtight container: many commercial preparations of asafoetidautilize the resin ground up and mixed with a larger volume of wheatflour:the mixture issold in sealed plastic containers with a small hole at the bottom,allowing the diluted spice to be dusted lightly over the food beingcooked. However, its odour and flavour become much milder and morepleasant upon heating in oil orghee, acquiring a taste and aroma reminiscentof sautéed onion and garlic.Itis used especially by the merchant caste of the Hindus and by adherentsof Jainism and Vaishnavism, particularly in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, who do not eat onions or garlic. It isused in many vegetarian and lentil dishes to add both flavor andaroma, as well as to reduce flatulence.
The resin-like gum comes from thedried sap extracted from the stem androots and is used as a spice. The resin is greyish-white whenfresh but dries to a dark amber color. The asafoetida resin isdifficult to grate and is traditionally crushed between stones orwith a hammer. Today, the most commonly available form iscompounded asafoetida, a fine powder containing 30% asafoetidaresin, along with rice flour and gumarabic.
Ferula assafoetida is a monoecious, herbaceous, perennialplant of the family Umbelliferae, alsocalled Apiaceae. It grows to 2 meters high,with a circular mass of 30–40 cm leaves. Stem leaves have widesheathing petioles. Flowering stems are 2.5–3meters high and 10 cm thick and hollow, with a numberof schizogenous ducts inthe cortex containing the resinousgum. Flowers are pale greenish yellow produced in largecompound umbels. Fruits are oval, flat, thin,reddish brown and have a milky juice. Roots are thick, massive, andpulpy. They yield a resin similar to that of the stems. All partsof the plant have the distinctive fetid smell.
