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The giant fennel

Strongly flavoured, asafoetida is an integral part of cooking

ASAFOETIDA MUST be the only food with sobriquets as opposite as `Food of the Gods' and `Devil's Dung'. Sambhar, curry powder and pickles get their acrid tang from small quantities of asafoetida-gum resin from the `Stinking gum' Ferula genus of the parsley family.

Ferula is native to Iran, Afghanistan and Tibet. Stone Age man used the hollow-stemmed Ferula to carry fire. This may be the basis of the Greek myth that a hollow-stemmed plant helped Rometheus carry fire from the sun to the earth. Alexander the Great's march to Asia created trade routes that eventually brought asafoetida to the dining tables of Europe. Flavouring barbecued mutton with asafoetida was popular during the Middle Ages.

Asafoetida finds mention in ancient Sanskrit texts dating back to the 3rd Century BC, and in the Mahabharata. In India, asafoetida is an essential condiment for those who shun similarly acrid garlic and onion on religious grounds. Asafoetida's overwhelming sulphurous smell comes from ferula acid and sulphur-rich oils. Powdered asafoetida is less offensive than the resin because it has less of the volatile oils. A pea-sized piece of asafoetida is enough to flavour a large pot of sambhar. Powdered asafoetida, unlike the pure resin, is likely to be adulterated with red clay, sand, gypsum and even powdered stones.

Apart from its acrid taste, asafoetida's alleged anti-flatulent action may explain its use in lentil dishes like sambhar and in curries. Past and discredited uses for asafoetida are as an aphrodisiac, infant colic remedy, de-worming agent and as a cure for palpitations. Asafoetida is an ingredient in herbal medicines for nervousness, flatulence and bronchitis. Its stimulant effect on the guts makes it a common additive in laxatives. There isn't enough hard evidence to justify its use for these conditions.

Asafoetida interacts with and affects the action of allopathic blood thinning medicines like Warfarin, aspirin, clopidogrel, enoxaparin, etc. Consult your doctor first if you intend to take asafoetida while on these drugs.

RAJIV. M

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