Easy
Indian
Dal Tadka
Soft yellow lentils finished with a sizzling tempering poured over at the table.
Ingredient
Asafoetida
A resin from a giant fennel relative, sold ground with flour. Raw it smells genuinely unpleasant, which is why it is always bloomed in hot fat for a few seconds first — that turns it into something close to cooked onion and garlic.
- Sourcing
- South Asian grocers, in small plastic tubs. A tub lasts years because the dose is a pinch.
- Varieties
- Ground (compounded with flour), Lump resin
- Quality cues
- Pale yellow and free-flowing, with a smell that hits you through the lid. If you cannot smell it, it is spent.
- Substitutions
- Garlic and onion powder together, Finely minced garlic
- Storage
- Double-contained — the smell migrates into everything nearby. Most people keep the tub inside a second sealed jar.
- Shelf life
- 2-3 years sealed
Cook with it
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