I have a recipe book for vegetarian food and many of the dishes contain
small dashes of asafoetida. I am living well away from big-city specialty
shops at present and such things are just not available. I know that one
can always adapt and work around missing ingredients but in some cases there
is no substitute and the dish can becpme quite different if a key item is
missing.

If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make the
outcome significantly different from using it?

David

David wrote:

> If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make the
> outcome significantly different from using it?

Yes, but fortunately, you can substitute garlic. It's not quite the same,
but it's close enough for most. See, asafoetida was used as a garlic
substitute by a Northern Indian group who believe that garlic was
undesirable.

(That's an oversimplification, but I'll let others tell the big story. The
little story is that you can use garlic as a substitute for asafoetida.)

Bob

"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in message
...
> I have a recipe book for vegetarian food and many of the dishes contain
> small dashes of asafoetida. I am living well away from big-city specialty
> shops at present and such things are just not available. I know that one
> can always adapt and work around missing ingredients but in some cases
there
> is no substitute and the dish can becpme quite different if a key item is
> missing.
>
> If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make the
> outcome significantly different from using it?
>
> David
>

Asafoetida is added to give a general onion / garlic type flavour. As such
it is supposed to enhance other flavours, especially in vegetarian Indian
food. I suppose you could add extra garlic and onion. It is also added to
lentil dishes and is thought to help prevent flatulence. I don't know what
to suggest for this effect!

Colin

David Hare-Scott wrote:
> I have a recipe book for vegetarian food and many of the dishes contain
> small dashes of asafoetida.


Just remember that in French it is called "Merde du diable". Maybe you
can live without it.

Phil

"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in
:

> If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it
> make the outcome significantly different from using it?

You can use onion and garlic, as asafoetida is a substitute for onion
and garlic in the cooking of Jains (India).

http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/asafetid.html

--

Certainty of death. Small chance of success. What are we waiting for?

Gimli, son of Gloín

On 2004-06-15, David Hare-Scott > wrote:

> If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make the
> outcome significantly different from using it?

Yes. But, don't lose any sleep over it. Despite what others, and the
following website claim, safoetida has a totally unique fragrance which, to
me, smells nothing like onions or garlic. Of course I don't keep a lot of
rotting onions laying around. The place I purchased the freshest, therefore
the strongest, asafoetida from would not store the stuff inside the
building, as the smell was so pungent. The kept it out back by the gas
meter[1]. Even though your dish will miss this weird flavor, it will still
be fine. Just make it a point to get some in the future. It definitely
adds a new dimension. You can tell a home or restaurant that uses
asafoetida, as it will eventually permeate every part of the place and give
it that distinct "Indian cooking" smell (not a bad thing .

http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/asafetid.html

[1] Ironically, this place eventually fell victim to a fire. I sometimes
wonder if the cause might have been the asafoetida out-sthinking the smell
of leaking gas?

nb
--
Be considerate of others and
trim your posts. Thank you.

"David Hare-Scott" > wrote in message
...
> I have a recipe book for vegetarian food and many of the dishes contain
> small dashes of asafoetida. I am living well away from big-city specialty
> shops at present and such things are just not available. I know that one
> can always adapt and work around missing ingredients but in some cases
there
> is no substitute and the dish can becpme quite different if a key item is
> missing.
>
> If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make the
> outcome significantly different from using it?
>
> David
>
>

Yes - there is nothing quite like asafoetida. You can buy it mail order and
it keeps a long time.

Peter Aitken

notbob wrote:
>
> On 2004-06-15, David Hare-Scott > wrote:
>
> > If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make the
> > outcome significantly different from using it?
>
> Yes. But, don't lose any sleep over it.

I never use it and don't notice the difference.
I have eaten things with it in but won't use it myself
as it has a disgusting smell and I don't want to handle
it.

> Despite what others, and the
> following website claim, safoetida has a totally unique fragrance

What it has I would not term a fragrance, as fragrance implies
a pleasant scent.

> which, to
> me, smells nothing like onions or garlic. Of course I don't keep a lot of
> rotting onions laying around. The place I purchased the freshest, therefore
> the strongest, asafoetida from would not store the stuff inside the
> building, as the smell was so pungent.

Pungent is putting it mildly - smells like the rotting corpse
of a skunk.

It doesn't smell bad once it's cooked. And you only
use a tiny amount. The taste is not bad cooked, although
I would be afraid to taste it raw. Anyway, it's the
raw odor that is so disagreeable. I don't think it's so
strong that you can't keep it in the house, wrapped up.
I had it around for a long time, but when I unwrapped it
to use it I found the smell so repugnant I threw it out.

> The kept it out back by the gas
> meter[1]. Even though your dish will miss this weird flavor, it will still
> be fine. Just make it a point to get some in the future. It definitely
> adds a new dimension. You can tell a home or restaurant that uses
> asafoetida, as it will eventually permeate every part of the place and give
> it that distinct "Indian cooking" smell (not a bad thing .

That distinctive "Indian cooking" smell doesn't smell anything
like asafoetida. You're right that the "Indian cooking" smell
is wonderful. I used to live in an apartment building and loved
coming home from work and going past the apartment of my Indian
neighbors. I was sorely tempted to knock on the door every time
and invite myself to dinner.

Kate

--
Kate Connally
“If I were as old as I feel, I’d be dead already.”
Goldfish: “The wholesome snack that smiles back,
Until you bite their heads off.”
What if the hokey pokey really *is* what it's all about?

In article >,
Kate Connally > wrote:

> It doesn't smell bad once it's cooked. And you only
> use a tiny amount. The taste is not bad cooked, although
> I would be afraid to taste it raw. Anyway, it's the
> raw odor that is so disagreeable. I don't think it's so
> strong that you can't keep it in the house, wrapped up.

We store our supply in a plastic bag inside a glass jar at the back of
the freezer.

Miche

--
If you want to end war and stuff you got to sing loud.
-- Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant"

"notbob" > wrote in message
news:%0Czc.53910$HG.30069@attbi_s53...
> On 2004-06-15, David Hare-Scott > wrote:
>
> > If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make
the
> > outcome significantly different from using it?
>
> Yes. But, don't lose any sleep over it. Despite what others, and the
> following website claim, safoetida has a totally unique fragrance which,
to
> me, smells nothing like onions or garlic. Of course I don't keep a lot of
> rotting onions laying around. The place I purchased the freshest,
therefore
> the strongest, asafoetida from would not store the stuff inside the
> building, as the smell was so pungent.

So rank it for me say compared to blachan (trasi)? When frying this in
preparation for Malay/Indonesian dishes the house fills with the delightful
aroma of rotten prawns. That bad? Worse?

David

"Bob" > wrote in message
...
> David wrote:
>
> > If I go ahead trying new vego recipes without asafoetida will it make
the
> > outcome significantly different from using it?
>
> Yes, but fortunately, you can substitute garlic. It's not quite the same,
> but it's close enough for most. See, asafoetida was used as a garlic
> substitute by a Northern Indian group who believe that garlic was
> undesirable.
>
> (That's an oversimplification, but I'll let others tell the big story. The
> little story is that you can use garlic as a substitute for asafoetida.)
>
> Bob

David,
Go ahead and leave out the asafoetida from the dish. Adding onions or
garlic for that matter instead of asafoetida will result in a completely
different dish many times. This is especially true for South Indian
vegetarian recipes, for example a coconut-cumin-pepper-moong based dish
called "kootu" will morph into a "korma" if you do substitute with onions.
Of course, korma is a great dish, so it might not be totally a bad thing
:-).

Kamala.

On Wed, 16 Jun 2004 05:12:39 GMT, "David Hare-Scott"
> wrote:

<snip>
>So rank it for me say compared to blachan (trasi)? When frying this in
>preparation for Malay/Indonesian dishes the house fills with the delightful
>aroma of rotten prawns. That bad? Worse?

It's closer to "a few days dead in a warm place" mammal than prawn;
but certainly in the same ballpark IMO. I know some cuisines use it
and I freely admit I may be missing something; but I can't imagine
putting anything that smells that disgusting into a dish I actually
intended to eat. OTOH, I can definitely see where it might be useful
to ensure that unwanted dinner guests go away and never return.

Regards,
Tracy R.

I couldn't resist "sticking my nose in" on this one. I think of the
Big Stinky Triumvirate (blachan/terasi, asafoetida, and durian),
hing/heeng/asafoetida would win for most "bang" for your buck. Oddly,
I have all three of these somewhat noxious items in the house at the
moment (the durian courtesy of an Indian friend who received it from a
Chinese guy at work and passed it on to me, the Northern
European--God, I love living in California!)

My SO, a garden designer, loves to use Ferula (the genus of which hing
is a species, Ferula assa-foetida I think) in his work. Got some seeds
from one of Christopher Lloyd's plants at Great Dixter.

I'd go ahead and try to secure some lump or powdered hing, just to
have it. It really is a necessary item for "proper" Indian food and
is quite deligthful when used properly. And what about kala namak
(black salt) for the truly delicious/nasty sulphur smell in chaat. A
must have! I now have two fridges (one in the garage) so I can keep
all my stinking/nasty/seldom-used stuff in the garage and go
"shopping" when I need a particularly vile or obscure item. Much
nicer than stumbling across something creepy when you're trying to get
a glass of milk in the middle of the night!

And I'd have to say that the uniquely "Indian" smell of Indian food is
really fenugreek (methi), not hing, although hing adds it's own note
to the symphony.

I think someone should start a stinking food thread (I'm sure it has
been done). An homage to durian, kala namak, stink beans (from
Indonesia/Malaysian), terasi/blachan, mam ruoc (wet shrimp paste), pra
rook (Cambobian fermented fish which smells oddly like cheese!). And
don't forget maeng dah (those banana-essence scented water beetles you
can buy frozen in a styrafoam three-pack from your local Khmer store).

Noel in Napa

Peter Aitken wrote:
Yes - there is nothing quite like asafoetida. You can buy it mail order
and
> it keeps a long time.

And, the smell of hing changes to something very very nice after just
moments in hot oil.
blacksalt