In India, we have three main seasons and their three subsidiary seasons — Gresham, Varsha, Shishir Sharad, Hemant, and Vasant. To keep the body and mind healthy, we must mould ourselves according to the changing seasons.
The body already plays its part in conforming to the climatic changes but food intake plays a very vital role. Many traditional Indian spices have been instrumental in keeping the body healthy. These spices were added to food at the time of sages and rishis. One of them is asafetida, also mentioned and described in ancient texts like Ashtangahridayam and Charakasamhita.
Asafoetida (Hing) has anti-viral and anti-inflammatory properties that show very positive effects on health. It is said that asafetida arrived in India from countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. There is not enough clarity on the period it arrived in. However, international boundaries were not the same as they are now and India was geographically larger. Afghanistan used to be a part of India in ancient times.
The asafetida plant is one and a half to two and a half meters high, with a strong smell and it comes under the category of carrot and radish plants. The resin or gum is extracted by making incisions in its stem and root. The taste of raw asafetida is somewhat similar to that of garlic, although its smell changes after drying. Asafoetida has been cultivated in India for years in parts of Kashmir, Ladakh and Punjab.
You will be surprised to know that 40 percent of the asafetida produced in the entire world is consumed in India. According to the information from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India imports more than 1200 tonnes of asafetida every year and an amount of more than Rs 600 crores is spent on the import.
Procurement of pure asafetida is possible only from a trusted wholesale/retail shopkeeper. It is common to sell asafetida mixed with gum or flour. Sellers say that by doing this asafetida becomes ‘eatable’, as its pure form is difficult to digest.
According to Shivam Gupta, trader of Khari Baoli, one of the country’s largest grocery and wholesale markets of spices, the price of diamond asafetida coming from Iran is Rs 20,000 per kg and the price of asafetida seeds coming from Afghanistan is Rs 30,000 per kg. This is pure asafetida.
The price of asafetida available in retail in the market is Rs 200 to 400 per 100 grams. The cost of 25 grams of Patanjali asafetida is Rs 50. The ancient texts Charakasamhita and Ashtangahridayam state that asafetida cures Vata and Kapha in the body.
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