ASAFOETIDA
Asafoetida is the exudate—technically a mixture of gum and resin—collected from the root of Ferula assafoetida, a relative of the carrot and fennel plants. Today, the plant grows only from eastern Iran to western Afghanistan and in parts of Kashmir, and it has never been successfully cultivated. Generally, a plant must be at least four years old before it will yield, and is tapped in the spring. On finding a suitable plant, a harvester digs away the soil and makes an incision in the top of the thick, carrot-like root, which then exudes, for up to three months, as much as a kilogram (35 oz) of milky resin.
Asafoetida is an important medicinal plant and is a member of the Apiaceae family. . This plant is a native species to the deserts of Iran . This plant is used. Iran Asafoetida powder is used more as a leading spice in the other spices or added as a flavoring in foods sauces and also is used as a drug in the medical consumption such as Anti-parasite, carminative, laxative , reduces inflammation.
Even small amounts of asafoetida give a comforting onion-garlic flavour, which is especially good in vegetarian dishes, curries and stews – almost anywhere you would use onion and/or garlic.
Tiny amounts give a gentle lift to fish, egg or cheese dishes where onion would be too coarse or bulky. That includes in salads and salad dressings, too.
Iran Asafoetida is also a natural defeater of intestinal wind, and that alone recommends it for inclusion in any and everything that includes lentils or beans.