Ferula asafoetida

I was shopping for Indian spices with a friend not long ago and she steered me toward a small yellow container of a powdered spice called asafoetida, or hing in Hindi. She explained that it tastes like onion or garlic, but that I’d have to fry it in oil to bring out that flavor; otherwise it would be highly unpalatable. Why, I mused, would anyone bother with asafoetida when onions, garlic or leeks were more predictable? My caution grew when I learned that the name of the spice is based on the Latin word “foetida,” meaning stinky, and that colloquially it is also known as Stinking Gum or Devil’s Dung.

My friend is a scholar of Jainism, one of India’s main religions. She explained that “devil’s dung” is one of the ways that Jains can add pungency to their cuisine without using onion or garlic, which are forbidden.

Jains are vegetarian, and not run-of-the-mill ovo-lacto vegetarian or even vegan. The religion’s main principle of ahimsa, or non-violence, extends to the foods they consume and even how they eat them. All meat is off-limits. Most milk products are allowed, as gathering milk helps make the beasts more comfortable at certain times, though Jains are concerned about the living conditions of dairy animals. But anything that could produce another “mobile being” as offspring, like an egg, isn’t allowed. Yogurts and cheeses hosting live cultures are often avoided as well: Eating them could kill the microorganisms within. Even water must be filtered to avoid consuming little beasties that might be swimming around in it.

Grains like wheat and rice, since they dry on the plant and are only then harvested, are key ingredients in a Jain diet, though they’re washed carefully before cooking to remove any live insects or insect eggs. Fruits that fall naturally from a plant, such as coconut, banana, tomato, or apple, are staples. Green vegetables are generally okay (except on certain religious days). Although Jains believe the plant might suffer when veggies are pulled off, that’s not considered an insurmountable obstacle. But all root vegetables are out: The harvesting not only kills the plant but also harms innumerable small soil creatures that live around the plant. Thus the ban on garlic and onions, which add so much savory flavor to a regular vegetarian diet. Hing provides a similar richness without having to kill the plant.

Asafoetida comes from the bulb of a wild fennel plant, Ferula asafoetida (as seen in photo), which grows from the eastern Mediterranean to central Asia, particularly in Iran and Afghanistan. It used to be better known in the West but fell out of favor after the Middle Ages. Alexander the Great is said to have carried the plant along his conquest route from Iran to India, where it became a popular ingredient in many foods. As a spice, it is more convenient to carry and use than alliums, plus it adds appealing depth of flavor to any dish, even if it already has onion, garlic, or leek. The great irony is the harvest method used for asafoetida could, from a Jainist perspective, seem cruel: A cut is made in the bulb before the plant flowers in the spring. As the milky white liquid of the inner plant oozes out, coagulates, and dries in the sunshine, it hardens to a nubbin of resin, which is then used, either in chunks or in powdered form, as the spice. After a number of cuts and harvests, the bulb is often used up and can die.

I’ve used my little yellow plastic pot of hing to make poha, a savory rice dish good for breakfast or a snack, and it does seem to add depth of flavor (though I also add onion). I sampled my hing raw the other day as I was preparing this post – it tasted like a gritty version of rancid garlic powder. Blech. I couldn’t get rid of the smell. I should have abided by my friend’s advice, to always fry it in oil.

For a recipe using hing, click here. (To make this Jain-friendly, leave out the onions and potato.)

—Elizabeth Snodgrass

Photo: Gernot Katzer

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