Asafetida
 
The asafetida or the asafoetida is dried latex extracted from the living rhizome, rootstock or taproot of an umbelliferous plant of varied species.

It has a unique blend of finest ingredients and Indian asafetida from Kashmir has an exalted position in the international market. Indian asafetida has three forms based on quality. They are as follows.

• Tears
• Mass
• Paste

There is another classification based on the place of origin, flavor and color as follows.

• Hing
• Hingra

The asafetida is highly popular spice as people who do not prefer to eat onion and garlic can make this as an essential ingredient of their cuisine. It acts as an alternative for onion and garlic in most of the vegetable dishes.

It is used in very small quantities in dishes and a pea-sized amount is considered to be large or sufficient to add the asafetida flavor to a large pot of food.  The powdered asafetida is less intense and can be used even without frying.

The aroma of this spice is also less when used in powdered form but the resin has a non-perishable fragrance. The resin has strong flavor and must be fried shortly in hot oil.