Curry

[tim]

Have you noticed how asafoetida adds that je ne sais quoi or nuance to most curries?

[tim]

[supersprout]

and a certain parfum to the living room curtains? ;)

[tim]

You have curtains? None in our kitchen for 45 years!!

[Jill]

Never used it myself.  Don't have curtains in the kitchen, so do you recommend a trial, Tim?

[supersprout]

Good companion with dal - and recommended on this site for jerusalem artichokes ::) :)

[katynewbie]

 ???

I know it's a good thing to add with Jerusalem artichokes, but what is it? A powder? A grainy type thing? Where do you buy it?

:-\

[calendula]

it's not called asafoetida for nothing - i.e. foetid - also called gum of the stinkasand  ;D

I believe it is the resin content in the roots that causes the aroma

[tim]

Jill - yes - address & I'll post you a pinch. One needs v little.

I don't find it in any way objectionable - more like a rich onion/garlicky smell?

[supersprout]

like calendula says the resin exuded by the root is dried and sold in grains (little chunks) or pulverised into a powder for cooking. If a recipe calls for 'a grain of asafoetida' it means a little chunk about the size of the head of a drawing pin. Add to hot oil briefly, and it sizzles up like yellow alka selzer - that's all the cooking it needs so as not to burn it.

Agree tim, it's lovely - pungent and clinging
I keep mine in a tightly stoppered jar, inside the ancestral curry box (macaroon tin) stolen from my ma ::)
Katy - Asian grocers. Ask for 'hing' :)

[tim]

Katy - sorry - we use the powder.

And although I quote 'use little', I don't spare it!!

[katynewbie]

 ;D ;D ;D ;D

Oooh, thanks, off to Mohammeds now!

;)

[supersprout]

oo katy, came across this in the New Curry Bible this evening

'this spice is extracted from the carrot-shaped rhizome of a giant perennial plant of the fennel family native to Kashmir ... when the rhizome is between 5-6" in diameter, it is mature enough to yield a milky-white sap when cut. Up to 1kg of sap slowly oozes out over the period of a few days, and solidifies into a brown resin-like substance ... other names 'devil's dung' and 'stinking gum' ... due to the presence of sulphur in its compostition ... the smell disappears once cooked, to give a distinctive and pleasant fragrance and sweetish taste'

did mohammed come good? :)

[Tora]

I got a bottle of asafetida powder from an Asian spice shop. I couldn't find it for ages and when I asked staff there he couldn't understand what asafetida was. They seem to use a word 'hing' or 'heeng'.

I always add a pinch of it in bean curry. :) It does smell a bit so I have to be careful where to store it. :D

[katynewbie]

 ;D

Yup! Mo had just what I wanted, any time now will be experimenting!

8)

[calendula]

Good companion with dal - and recommended on this site for jerusalem artichokes ::) :)

dhall - yum, but actually I love the smell of any curry cooking in the house and the way it lingers, even on the curtains, not that I sniff them very often  :P I guess cumin and coriander are my favourite smells

back to the yummy tarka dhall, has to have some fried onions sprinkled on top (another fab smell) but cooking that otter is sooo difficult don't you think  ;D

[lottief]

oooh, i love dhall, do you have a good recipe?

Lottief

[Chantenay]

My Punjabi rellies reckon asofoetida reduces farting. ;D

[supersprout]

oooh, i love dhall, do you have a good recipe?
Lottief

Here goes:

Mum's Dhal

Any bean or split bean - urad, rajma, moong, toor, chana, masoor (lentil) etc. Split beans will make soupy dhal. This is our favourite recipe for split chana dhal.

Pour beans onto a flat white plate and remove rocks and bad 'uns :-X
Wash
Soak whole beans overnight - use split beans straight away
Put beans and twice as much volume of water into a pot, bring to the boil without lid on
Remove scum with a strainer and lower to simmer

For 250g beans in their cooking water, add:

2" piece of fresh ginger, cut longways into about four thick slices (don't bother to skin)
1 tsp ground turmeric

Put lid on at a tilt to let steam escape, simmer for 75 - 90 minutes until dal is the texture you want. If you wish you can mash some whole beans against the sides of the pan.

Check water level for the consistency you want - if too much, spoon or boil off - if too little, add more water.

Add 1 tsp or more salt (if added before, it will prevent the beans from softening)

For the baghar

Take a small frying pan. Melt 3 tbs ghee or oil in it on medium heat.

Add

2 tsp whole cummin seed: when the seed begins to pop, add
3-4 chopped cloves of garlic; when the garlic begins to brown, add
a pinch or grain of asafoetida; when this fizzles up, add
1 tsp or more chilli powder or flakes

shake the pan - no more - then pour the baghar over the dhal in the pot. It will sizzle!

Stir gently, taste, adjust seasoning if you wish, and serve, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander :)

[tim]

Noted.

Before reading that, I was concocting this for Chantenay...............

.......of course!!

"of the plant; it is fried before use (otherwise it is irritating). For digestive complaints, it is relied upon to improve the "digestive fire" and thereby speed the digestion of food, alleviating problems of heaviness, fullness, bloating, or gas after eating. By improving the digestion, asafoetida helps prevent the formation of excess phlegm and ama."

By the way - is it not only the resin that is poo? Certainly the powder is, to my mind, inoffensive.

[lottief]

 :)  Thanks supersprout!
I will try it tomorrow!