The age old secret weapon-spice of the Indian cuisine.
Hing or Asafoetida is an ancient food, that traveled through time, with rulers and migrated from Iran, Afganistan and found a new home in India. Little known are facts that apart from its Persian heritage, Hing also has deep-seated roots as far and wide as Mongolia, Greece to the apothecaries of Venice. We found this wonderful article highlighting the history of Hing. Do read if food facts intrigue you too.
We at Old fashioned gourmet, manage to source Hing from Kabul. It's extremely potent, one can smell its fragrance wafting from far away.
There is nothing like piping hot daal with the redolence of Hing amidst other essential spices. The reason Hing is used in Daals & Meats was very scientific. It helps to counteract the gas produced by these foods during digestion. No wonder for centuries, Indians have washed their meats and fish with Hing-water – first documented by Someshwara III, emperor of the Western Chalukya (ref: from this very informative article)
It is an ancient remedy for many ailments, mainly gastro-intestinal & bronchial and also has lots of beauty benefits as well.
Lets embrace our ancient food heritage once again.