Asafoetida

Assa-fœtida (hing)

What it is

It is the dried latex of a giant fennel root, tapped much as rubber is: the crown is cut and the milk bled off over weeks until the plant is dead. India eats nearly the whole world supply and grew none of it until 2020, when the first plantations went into the ground at altitude in Himachal Pradesh.

In the kitchen

A quarter teaspoon of the compounded powder for four people, dropped into hot fat for three seconds before anything else goes in — raw it tastes of drains, bloomed it tastes of fried onion. Keep the jar inside a second jar; otherwise it will find its way into the salt, the tea and the flour.

Goes with

Ghee Cumin Turmeric Red lentil Chickpeas Curry leaf Mustard seed Potato

Also used with

Chana dal Kashmiri chilli Pigeon pea (toor dal) Urad dal

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