Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Is it an appetizer? Or medicine? Or insecticide? Asafoetida, a wild fennel plant native to Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan, has long puzzled people.
The resin extracted from its roots is used in Indian cuisine, usually after grinding it into a powder and mixing it with flour. It is characterized by its strong and pungent smell. In fact, its smell is so pungent that it may be the most divisive ingredient in India.
If it accidentally gets on your hands, it’s difficult to remove, no matter how many times you wash your hands.
In the Khari Baoli market in Old Delhi, for example, asafoetida It “outweighs the aroma” of all other spices.
“Asafoetida is essential to all ingredients in Indian cooking,” explain Siddharth Talwar and Rhea Rosalind Ramji, co-founders of Showbiz School of Chefs.
They added, “Asafoetida bridges the gap between the flavors of onion and garlic, which were prohibited due to religious beliefs in largely vegetarian Indian societies. Despite the diversity of cooking in India, asafoetida “It remains a constant element.”
For example, followers of Jainism, an ancient Indian religion, avoid onions, garlic, and ginger, in addition to not eating meat.
Ramji admits that the smell of asafoetida can… A challenge, as raw asafoetida has been compared to the smell of rotten cabbage and has even been nicknamed the “devil’s dung.”
A small amount makes a big difference, as Talwar advises putting a small amount of asafoetida in hot oil.
Most people buy a powdered version of asafoetida mixed with rice or wheat flour. However, more adventurous cooks will resort to the solid crystalline form, more similar to rock salt.
History of “Asafoetida”
Some scholars credit Alexander the Great with bringing asafoetida to India for the first time.
“A common theory is that Alexander’s army came across asafoetida in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, and they mistakenly thought it was the rare silphium, which has properties similar to asafoetida,” explained culinary historian Dr. Ashish Chopra.
Chopra pointed out that the soldiers carried the plant with them to India with difficulty, only to discover later that the matter was not what they thought. However, the Indians apparently had another opinion, explaining that “asafoetida” was used in some foods of Greco-Roman cuisine, but it did not last long.
But with changing food patterns and global appetites, some chefs are trying to reformulate their recipes by skipping onions and garlic in favor of asafoetida.
“Asafoetida can enhance the umami sensation essential to stews and stocks,” according to Talwar.
The concept of “umami,” meaning delicious taste, was first introduced by Japanese nutritionists, but has become one of the five basic tastes in gastronomy, along with sweet, bitter, sour, and salty.
According to the National Library of Medicine, asafoetida has been used for therapeutic purposes, as a cough suppressant, antispasmodic, parasite and worm fighter, and is also touted by some as an effective Ayurvedic treatment for stomach gas.
Moreover, not everyone bought asafoetida for consumption, as Africans and Jamaicans sometimes wore asafoetida amulets, especially because they believed it could repel demons.
In 1918, some people in the United States wore bags containing asafoetida to ward off the Spanish flu.
These days, its disgusting properties are better used as a pesticide in organic farming.
Although India is the largest consumer of asafoetida in the world, the country did not cultivate it until recently.
About three years ago, in the cold desert side of the Himalayas, farmers announced that they were trying to grow their own asafoetida.
The process of growing asafoetida can be slow, but if India succeeds in growing this product locally, this could mean saving about $100 million annually from importing the same product.
And perhaps most importantly, Indians may get their favorite flavor entirely from India.
2024-01-22 08:33:55
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