The real trick to cooking with hing, also known as asafetida powder, is to recognize two things:
One, you only need a pinch! Add too much and it will overpower your dish.
Two, it needs to be used in the beginning stage of cooking by adding it to heated oil, preferably ghee. This mellows the flavor and scent into something more akin to leek or garlic. You can't just sprinkle it on top of any dish like you can dried garlic granules or table salt. That would be unpleasant. Yet adding it to heated oil truly makes it shine and helps add its special funk to any dish.
The purpose of hing in Indian food can't be overstated. A little bit of hing in your pan supercharges ever other spice, making your entire dish more aromatic and flavorful and giving any recipe an addictive depth. It can also be very helpful for those looking for alternatives to onion and garlic because of an allium allergy.
Here are some useful ideas:
- Simply mix a pinch of hing with 1 tsp of ghee, olive oil, or sesame oil; sauté and add to cooked grains, legumes, or vegetables.
- Traditionally, hing has been used as a digestive aid, added to legumes (beans and peas) and gas-producing vegetables as an anti-flatulent. Add a bit to a large pot of beans or lentils when cooking.
- Combine a pinch of hing powder with 1 TBSP ghee in a saucepan. Sauté a colorful variety of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini or yellow squash. Season with salt and pepper.
- Combine a pinch of hing powder with 1 TBSP ghee in a saucepan. Sauté leafy greens such as kale, collards, chard or spinach. Add curry powder and a splash of coconut milk.
- Scramble eggs with a pinch of hing and pure ghee or butter. Add any other vegetables you want.
- Combine a pinch of hing powder with 1 TBSP ghee and 1 tsp curry powder, and cook for a few seconds. Add grains such as millet or rice. Fry just a moment, then add broth or water and cook as normal.
- In a saucepan, heat cooked chickpeas in a mixture of ghee and a pinch of hing. Add spices to taste such as salt, pepper, curry powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander. Serve over rice or quinoa.
- Stir a little hing and ghee into favorite onion-and-garlic-free pasta sauce for delicious, IBS-friendly marinara sauce.
- Add a little hing and turmeric to sautéed ground meat when making chili, Sloppy Joes, or spaghetti with meat sauce.