asafoetida

On 4/3/2011 7:58 PM, Mark Thorson wrote:


Isn't that what people (in the Middle Ages?) wore in a cloth bag around
their necks to ward off werewolves or evil spirits? I remember reading
that it had an awful odor. I have read novels set in the rural south
where it was called something like "assafidity".

gloria p
 
On Apr 3, 5:57?pm, sf wrote:

Huh. "Panch phoran" is fenugreek, Nigella seed, cumin seed, radhuni
and fennel seed. We have everything but the radhuni.
 
On Sun, 3 Apr 2011 18:26:55 -0700 (PDT), spamtrap1888
wrote:


I only have fenugreek because of the name, I've never used it - no
Nigella or radhuni. I have ground cumin, not seed... but I do have
fennel seed. And nothing to grind anything in, I have no idea what
happened to that coffee grinder but it sprouted legs and walked off a
couple of years ago.

--

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
 
On Sun, 03 Apr 2011 19:15:31 -0600, gloria.p wrote:


Rosemary's Baby was set in New York, IIRC. Or was it Chicago? It was
a fictional herb called "Tanas Root" that was meant to ward off GOOD
spirits. "Tanas" is an anagram of "Satan".

Asafoetida would be unknown to the southern U.S. as it's not a native
plant. But it does come from a root (rhizome).

-sw
 
On Sun, 03 Apr 2011 18:26:33 -0800, Mark Thorson wrote:


No, it stinks pretty good in it's raw form as well. The odor
initially gets worse when you cook with it, but then it does off q
quickly.

It's a completely useless ingredient unless you're avoiding certain
superstitious foods and want to improve your aura.

-sw
 
On 4/4/2011 4:00 AM, Steve Pope wrote:

I believe certain groups of strict Hindus (like Hari Krishnas) don't use
onions or garlic because they are *associated* with meat cooking and try
to replace them with hing. On the other hand, prepared garam masala
often contains the stuff but the end result in cooking is quite good
even if the odor is pretty disgusting when you stir it in. The general
reaction of non-Indians to hing is discussed by Gernot Katzer:
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html. I will just give a few
names to illustrate the nearly uniform western reaction to asafoetida:
devil's dung, merde du diable and Teufelsdreck.

--


James Silverton, Potomac

I'm "not"
[email protected]
 
"sf" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
`

You can buy it online or in Indian markets. It has a kind of garlic/onion
taste. Be really, really careful with it as just a tiny bit too much will
ruin the dish. That's kind of true with Indian food in general. Hard to
get the balance just right. It's the one cuisine I gave up on. I was never
very impressed with my results. My many attempts at palak paneer never
matched what I ate in Indian restaurants. Saag aloo, vindaloo, saag
paneer - same. I just buy jarred tadkas now.

Paul
 
On 2011-04-04, Omelet wrote:

Couple more fun factoids:

In Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series (Master and Commander), Dr
Maturin always keeps a stock of asafoetida on hand to add to oral
boluses. It was added specifically to make them taste bad, as it was
the universal belief amongst common sailors that a medicine that
didn't taste horrible couldn't be of any real value.

My own experience confirms jes how strong asafoetida can really smell.
When entering an unfamiliar Indian grocery store in Berkeley, CA, the
stink was overwhelming and completely permeated that rather spacious
store. Got to chatting with the proprietor and learned they had jes
taken delivery of a fresh new shipment of asafoetida (hing). She told
me the previous owner had actually stored it out behind the store in a
cabinet next to the gas meter, but she didn't mind it. The new
shipment was a buncha small sealed (not too well) plastic containers
totaling an amount about half the size of a shoebox, yet the fragrance
was so powerful it literally assaulted one's olfactory the second the
front door was opened. Some serious stink! ;)

nb
 
"notbob" ha scritto nel messaggio

I didn't recall that, although I am a big fan.



Which is how the hallway outside an apartment where it is used smells. Ergo
some complaints. To me it doesn't taste bad as I always like what it's in,
but oh, does it stink!
 
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