23/06/2021
Vegetarianism takes different forms in India. It is not just enough to eschew meat - large chunks of people in the country do so in selective ways. But, vegetarianism in India even extends to eschewing certain vegetables and herbs. Because vegetarianism is predominantly associated with religious mores and rituals, these practices and cooking associated with them can be hard to understand for an outside observer. However, one common ritual associated with this kind of religious eating is the avoidance of onion and garlic in meals. No onion-no garlic cooking is common in many communities in the country that cook vegetables simply and without dominant flavours. This simple vegetarian food, however, is invariably flavoured with asafoetida, a rather pungent ingredient on its own, whose large-scale culinary use is perhaps distinctive to the Subcontinent. Lentils are commonly tempered with asafoetida and vegetables that are not cooked using either onion or garlic to flavour them are invariably flavoured with hing, the Hindi word for the spice, Perungayam in Tamil In fact, hardly do you come across a curry with an onion masala as its base that also uses hing. Similarly dals, when they are tempered with garlic, a strong ingredient, are not tempered with hing at all. Asafoetida in fact contains sulphide compounds whose flavour profile is pungent and quite similar to what you get from onion and garlic. Though widely used in the cuisines of the Subcontinent, hing arrived here via Iran and Afghanistan, and Uzbek thanks to ancient trade, once the land route between Asia Minor and India began to be traversed widely. We can find traces of this link even today: the best hing is still Kandahri hing, with a stronger, more prominent smell. The spice is actually a resin-like gum that comes from the stem and roots of the plant. It is dried and used, and since it is difficult to be grated, has to be crushed into a powder. Pick to make dishes flavorful and your health sound. The exquisite spices at are 100% pure and authentic. Check out our range of spices now!