Asafoetida (Hing)
Asafoetida हींग /æsəˈfɛtᵻdə/[3] is the driedlatex (gum oleoresin) exuded from therhizome or tap root of several species ofFerula, a perennial herb that grows 1 to 1.5 m (3.3 to 4.9 ft) tall. The species is native to the deserts of Iran and mountains of Afghanistanand is mainly cultivated in nearby India.[4] As its name suggests, asafoetida has a fetid smell[5] (see etymology below), but in cooked dishes, it delivers a smooth flavour reminiscent of leeks.
It is also known as asant, food of the gods, jowani badian, stinking gum, Devil's dung, hing, hengu, ingu, kayam, and ting.[5]
Uses
Cooking
This spice is used as a digestive aid, in food as a condiment, and in pickling. It typically works as a flavour enhancer and, used along with turmeric, is a standard component ofIndian cuisine, particularly in lentil curries, such as dal as well as in numerous vegetable dishes. It is widely used in South Indian andMaharashtrian cuisine, which is mainly vegetarian, and is often used to harmonize sweet, sour, salty and spicy components in food. Asafoetida also serves the purpose as a vegetarian alternative to make food taste more full-flavoured and savoury.[6] The spice is added to the food at the time of tempering. Sometimes dried and ground asafoetida (in very mild quantity) can be mixed with salt and eaten with raw salad.
In its pure form, its odour is so strong the aroma will contaminate other spices stored nearby if it is not stored in an airtight container: many commercial preparations of asafoetida utilize the resin ground up and mixed with a larger volume of wheat flour:[7]The mixture is sold in sealed plastic containers with a small hole at the bottom, allowing the diluted spice to be dusted lightly over the food being cooked. However, its odour and flavour become much milder and more pleasant upon heating in oil or ghee, acquiring a taste and aroma reminiscent ofsautéed onion and garlic.[8]
It is used widely by the merchant caste of theHindus and by adherents of Jainism andVaishnavism, particularly in Rajasthan,Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, who do not eat onions or garlic. It is used in many vegetarian and lentil dishes to add both flavour and aroma as well as to reduce flatulence.[9] It is, however, one of the pungent vegetables generally avoided by Buddhist vegetarians.
Medical applications
- Antiflatulent. Asafoetida reduces the growth of indigenous microflora in the gut, reducing flatulence.[10] In the Jammu regionof India, asafoetida is used as a medicine for flatulence and constipation by 60% of locals.[11]
- A digestion aid. In Thailand and India, it is used to aid digestion and is smeared on theabdomen in an alcohol or water tinctureknown as mahahing. Asafoetida in thistincture form was evidently used in western medicine as a topical treatment for abdominal injuries during the 18th and 19th centuries; although when it came into use in the West and how long it remained in use is uncertain. One notable case in which it was used is that of Canadian Coureur des boisAlexis St. Martin, who in 1822 suffered a severe abdominal injury from an accidental shooting that perforated his right lung and stomach and shattered several ribs. St Martin was treated by American army surgeonWilliam Beaumont, who subsequently used St Martin as the subject of a pioneering series of experiments in gastric physiology. When St Martin's wounds had healed, there remained an open fistula into his stomach that enabled Beaumont to insert various types of food directly into St Martin's stomach and record the results. In his account of his treatment of and later experiments on St Martin, Beaumont recorded that he treated the suppurating chest wound with a combination of wine mixed with diluted muriatic acid and 30-40 drops of tincture of asafoetida applied three times a day, and that this appeared to have the desired effect, helping the wound to heal.[12]
- Fighting influenza: Asafoetida was used in 1918 to fight the Spanish influenza pandemic. In 2009, researchers reported that the roots of Asafoetida produce natural antiviral drugcompounds that demonstrated potency against the H1N1 virus in vitro and concluded that "sesquiterpene coumarins from F. assa-foetida may serve as promising lead compounds for new drug development against influenza A (H1N1) viral infection".[13][14]
- Remedy for asthma and bronchitis. It is also said[15] to be helpful in cases of asthmaand bronchitis. A folk tradition remedy for children's colds: it is mixed into a pungent-smelling paste and hung in a bag around the afflicted child's neck.
- An antimicrobial: Asafoetida has a broad range of uses in traditional medicine as anantimicrobial, with well documented uses for treating chronic bronchitis and whooping cough, as well as reducing flatulence.[16]
- A contraceptive/abortifacient: Asafoetida has also been reported to havecontraceptive/abortifacient activity.[17] It is related to (and considered an inferior substitute for) the ancient Ferula speciesSilphium.[citation needed]
- Antiepileptic: Asafoetida oleo-gum-resin has been reported to be antiepileptic in classical Unani, as well as ethnobotanicalliterature.[18]
- Balancing the vata and kapha. In Indiaaccording to the Ayurveda, asafoetida is considered to be one of the best spices for balancing the vata dosha. It mitigates vata and kapha, relieves flatulence and colic pain. It ispungent in taste and at the end of digestion. It aggravates pitta, enhances appetite, taste anddigestion. It is easy to digest. (ref: ashtanga hridaya Su chapter 6).[19]
- Antidote for opium. Asafoetida has only been speculated to be an antidote foropium.[20]
- Acifidity Bag. Asafoetida was approved by the US Pharmacopedia to stave off theSpanish flu epidemic of 1918 that killed millions worldwide. It was placed into pouches called "acifidity bags" that were provided by drug stores to be hung around the neck to try to prevent catching the disease.[21]
Other uses
- Bait: John C Duval reported in 1936 that the odour of asafoetida is attractive to the wolf, a matter of common knowledge, he says, along the Texas–Mexico border. It is also used as one of several possible scent baits, most notably for catfish and pike.[22]
- May also be used as a moth (Lepidoptera) light trap attractant by collectors—when mixed by approximately 1 part to 3 parts with a sweet, fruit jelly.[citation needed]
- Repelling spirits: In Jamaica, asafoetida is traditionally applied to a baby's anteriorfontanel (Jamaican patois mole) to prevent spirits (Jamaican patois duppies) from entering the baby through the fontanel. In the African-American Hoodoo tradition, asafoetida is used in magic spells, as it is believed to have the power both to protect and to curse[citation needed].
- In ceremonial magick, especially from TheKey of Solomon the King, it is used to protect the magus from daemonic forces and to evoke the same and bind them.[23]
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