Steenbergs Asafoetida Mix

Asafoetida is fetid and sulphurous in smell, but it tastes of garlic when heated in oil. In its purist form, it is a gum that comes from type of fennel. We mix it with fenugreek to make it a more useful and versatile powder.

Asafoetida is thought to help with the digestion of pulses – reducing flatulence – so is often added to dhals, for example. Use in lentil dishes, sambar dishes or vegetable curries.

Axel’s Tasting Notes: Pungent: slightly like garlic at first with a fruity sweetness. When fried briefly in hot oil, the smell tones down and becomes a sweet, onion-like flavour.

More about Asafoetida

In its purist form it is a deep brown, unpleasant looking oleoresin gum extracted from giant fennel, Ferula assafoetida, which grows to about 3 metres high.

The sap from asafoetida is collected from plants that are older than four years old by tapping the base of the stem. Then, the lumps of drying resin are taken off the plant.

These turn to a dark reddish-brown gum which is musky and rotten in aroma and soft to touch. To make it more usable it is mixed with fenugreek powder to give you asafoetida in a powder form.