Mullangi Sambar

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When I was thinking of recipe’s to make for this project, I knew that I had to cook things that my family would like to eat. After all, I can't eat all of this on my own (I actually could but that’s not the point). Mullangi Sambar, or Sambar with Diakon, is a lentil soup of sorts that features a multitude of ingredients and spices. It can be made with many different vegetables, or even without vegetables at all, but the one with Daikon is my mom’s personal favorite.

The spice we are featuring for this dish is Asafoetida, or colloquially, Hing. When asking my Nani about finding dishes that feature Asafoetida I was met with “what do you mean? I use Hing in all my cooking.” I thought that can’t be true, it’s such a strong flavor, but as the weeks progressed I realized that indeed, Hing is used in almost every dish we made together.

Hing is the powdered dried sap that collects on the exposed tap roots of the giant fennel plant. When used raw it is a sticky brown, but when dried and mixed with tempering agents like ground wheat it becomes a pungent powder that is used to add a savory flavor to any dish. I liken it to the South Asian version of MSG, an umami additive often put in East Asian cooking. Toasted in oil with other spices, it browns from a light yellow to golden brown quickly, taking on that signature garlic and onion taste it is known for. Because of this flavor, it is often used by members of the Jain community who do not believe in eating garlic and onions for spiritual reasons.

On a molecular scale, there are clear reasons why Asafoetida tastes similar to members of the Allium species, garlic, and onions. It is made up of, in order of highest percentage, resin, gum, and volatile oil. Volatile oils, or essential oils as they are commonly known, are hydrophobic, fat-soluble and made up of terpenes. Terpenes are large unsaturated hydrocarbon molecules that are found alongside other compounds with different molecular structures — heterocyclic, aromatic and straight chain compounds — which give each volatile oil its own unique scent. In onions and garlic the non-terpenes are Allyl Sulfides. Allyl Sulfides are a series of sulfur compounds found in the members of the Allium species. Shared between onions, garlic and asafoetida is a disulfide compound from this Allyl Sulfide series which gives asafoetida its garlicky onion smell and flavor.

Whew. Ok. Here’s the recipe!


References:

Beans, Carolyn. "Meet Hing: The Secret-Weapon Spice of Indian Cuisine." npr. Last modified June 22, 2016. Accessed May 30, 2019. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/06/22/482779599/meet-hing-the-secret-weapon-spice-of-indian-cuisine. 
Asafoetida

Encyclopedia Britannica. "Essential Oil." Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified April 6, 2016. 
Accessed May 30, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/topic/essential-oil. 
Asafoetida 

Munday, Rex, and Christine M. Munday. "Induction of Phase II Enzymes by Aliphatic Sulfides Derived from Garlic and Onions: An Overview." Methods in Enzymology 382 (2004): 449-56. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0076-6879(04)82024-X. 
Asafoetida 

Zachariah, T.J., and N.K. Leela. "Volatiles from Herbs and Spices." Handbook of Herbs and Spices 3 (2006): 177-218. https://doi.org/10.1533/9781845691717.2.177. 
Asafoetida 

McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York, NY: Scribner, 1984.
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