Hing, one of the most underrated but powerful spice, is packed with flavour and multiple health benefits. In India, just a tiny pinch of this spice works wonders. Grown mostly in Iran and Afghanistan, hing or asafoetida has a pungent smell, which dissipates upon cooking giving a pleasant umami flavour. This property of incorporating umami flavour makes it an ideal replacement for onion and garlic in a lot of dishes.
It is surprising and saddening to see how the world is aloof of the benefits and usage of hing (read more about the benefits of hing), so let's see how you can incorporate this wonderful spice in your Indian cooking.
1. Pickles
Pickles or achaar, as we call it in Hindi, are one of the condiments which use spices in abundance. Apart from imparting flavour, they also help in preserving the pickle for years. Hing, because of its digestive properties and its being a good source of antioxidants, makes itself a good spice to be used in pickles especially this mango hing pickle.
Shop Tassyam Hingwale Afghan Hing made using traditional methods and modern technologies.
2. Kachori
You know the best part about Indian foods? Our ancestors knew how to balance oily and greasy foods with health-benefitting spices and they have successfully passed on this knowledge to their next generation(s). One such food is kachori. Kachori is flaky, stuffed and deep-fried breakfast item or evening snack. The filling is mostly made with moong dal (split yellow gram), flavoured with spices like cumin, fennel, turmeric, coriander powder, ginger powder and many more. Each of these spices impart colour and flavour to the filling making the kachoris lip-smacking. But what does hing do in this? Hing works great for indigestion, thus, prevents bloating and retention of water, which can obviously happen after consuming heavy and oily foods. Hing has alkaline nature, so it helps avoiding an acid reflux.
3. Kadhi
Picture this- it is a Sunday afternoon and you come to know there is kadhi chawal for lunch. How happy would you be? Immensely happy, right? Kadhi chawal is a Sunday staple in so many Indian households. Just with two basic ingredients- besan and curd and an amalgamation of spices give you such a heartwarming dish.
Hing is one of the main spices used in the tempering for kadhi. It imparts the umami flavour when popped in hot ghee.
4. Mathri
Flaky mathri slathered with pickle makes for perfect evening snack with tea or a good midnight munching option. Use of hing in making mathris works the same way as it does for kachoris. Check out this recipe for namkeen mathri.
Buy Tassyam Hingwale Teza Hing for the best food experience.
5. Chutney
Just like pickle, chutney would go really well with mathris, infact with a lot of your snacks like pakode, samose, sandwiches, chillas, etc. A pinch of hing along with other spices like ginger, garlic, cumin powder and chaat masala make up for a tangy and delicious chutney.
Try this easy chutney recipe next time you cook up some lip-smacking snacks.
6. Panipuri
Everything "chatpata" in Indian cuisine is actually "healthy" if made the right way and with the right ingredients. Same goes for a lot of street foods. Panipuri, golgappe, puchka- whatever you call it, is actually very good for the stomach (in controlled quantity, obviously). It is spicy, chatpata and good for the digestive system. Made with the perfect balance of different spices- cumin powder, chaat masala, pepper powder, red chilli powder, hing and jaggery, panipuri is almost everyone's favourite.
Here was our list of food where you can make the best use of Tassyam Hingwale Hing. Do let us know your favourite way of incorporating hing in recipes.