Indian Spice Asafoetida

Asafoetida

Botanical Name

Family

Commercial Part

Information

Asafoetida may be the dried latex (gum oleoresin) exuded from living underground rhizome or tap-root of a few types of Ferula (three which grow in India), which will be a perennial natural herb (1 to 1.5 mtr. High).

Origin and Distribution

The species tend to be distributed from Mediterranean region to Central Asia. In India it's cultivated in Kashmir plus some areas of Punjab. The most important method of getting asafoetida to India is from Afghanistan and Iran. There's two main types of asafoetida ie. Hing Kabuli Sufaid (Milky white asafoetida) and Hing Lal (Red asafoetida). Asafoetida is acrid and bitter in flavor and emits a solid disagreeable pungent odour as a result of presence of sulphur substances therein. The white or pale variety is water-soluble, whereas the dark or black colored variety is oil soluble. Since pure asafoetida is not preferred because of its strong taste, it's combined with starch and gum and marketed as compounded asafoetida mainly in bricket kind. Furthermore obtainable in free flowing (dust type) or perhaps in tablet forms.

Uses

Asafoetida is extensively utilized for flavouring curries, sauces, and pickles. Furthermore found in medications because of its antibiotic properties.

Indian Title of Herbs

Hindi : Hing Bengali : Hing Gujarati : Hing Kannada : Hinger, Ingu Kashmiri : Yang, Sap Malayalam : Kayam Marathi : Hing Oriya : Hengu Punjabi : Hing Sanskrit : Badhika, Agudagandhu� Tamil : Perungayam Telugu : Inguva, Ingumo Urdu : Hing