I hope that my previous post on Dry red chilly under "Indian Spices" was informative and thank you all for the lovely comments and emails.
One of the significantly used ingredient in a Indian kitchen is Asafoetida. "Asafoetida" is called as "Hing" in Hindi and "Perungayam" in Tamil. It is available in all the Indian Grocery shop sand the picture below displays a store-bought bottle.
History of its usage dates back to reign of Alexander, the famous Roman Emperor who had brought this exotic spice from Persia and introduced it into the Mediterranean cooking and this spice was primarily been used in European cuisine. Eventually in 16th century when the Roman Empire fell, it became rare in Europe but by then Indian Hindu's started to use them in every meal.
Most of the authentic vegetarian dishes in India will be flavored with this condiment. When smelt before adding to the hot oil, it gives out a pungent, unpleasant smell but when cooked, it transforms into a smoothing aromatic substance and beautifully enhances the taste of the dish. It has zero hotness and is used in minute quantity. Just like dry red chillies, a couple of teaspoon of asafoetida is added to sizzling hot oil and left to cook for a minute. It has to be carefully used in the dishes as any excess addition may turn the meal into a disaster. Indians generally use the rich and distinctively smelling asafoetida to temper the oil used for the preparation of raita, butter milk, rasam, sambhar, subjis, lentil dishes, pickles and soups.
Ferula Asafoetida is a perennial plant which belongs to the family Umbelliferae. It bears fine leaves and yellow flowers. Initially when the stalks are cut , they release milky liquid out of it which then dries in 2-3 months to sticky resins. My mother uses the sticky version while I use the powdered form for cooking. Both serves the same purpose. They are chiefly grown in Iran and Afghanistan and exported worldwide. In India, they are grown only in Kashmir, Northern India.
Apart from its use in cooking, asafoetida has great medicinal values too. When consumed with hot water it treats flatulence and also favors proper digestion, treats asthma, flu, yeast infections and has anti-microbial properties. It is believed that its foetid odor kills the germs.
PS: I read this article in NDTV news about how spicy Indian curry could prevent Swine flu. Interesting right?
I have noticed a steady increase in hype about Indian food and cooking among my friends, colleagues and also media for past couple of years. Infact, the previous episode of Next Iron Chef America (Cooking Competition in Food Network Channel), was on cooking a five-course Indian meal by multinational talented chefs. I have personally seen many non-Indian foodies talking about Naan and Chicken Tikka Masala but when Ms.Freitag, Executive Chef of The Harrison cooked "Thoran" ,a Kerala dish (also referred as "Poriyal" in Tamil), my eyes popped out and I was also happy to see that even a typical household dish is getting popular among International chefs and getting noticed worldwide. Kudos to the delicious Indian food and cooking!!!
Read the NDTV article here
http://www.ndtv.com/news/sci-tech/spicy_indian_curry_could_prevent_swine_flu.php
Wow...that's a whole lot of info on key or significant ingredient in many south Indian recipes....thank you for sharing....
good info..something which is consumed in minor quantity has such a lot of significance..yes..may people do realise the importance and are nowadays adapting the Indian cuisine ..
Nice post dear...
people are gona understand what indian food has. Thanks to the Indian woman who made it popular.
I never knew hing has so many advantages. The post was really interesting and worth a read.
great information on asafoetida....i use the sticky version and love it in my daals n raitas...
Very informative post..Indian cuisine rocking na!
Thanks for the informative post!!!
I absolutely adore asafoetida. I add some while popping corn on the stove top - im addicted!
Very nice post. I can see the media interest in Indian food too. I am so happy!
Your recipes look just great and really tasty. Thank you for this beautiful and delighted time I spent through your blog.