Asafoetida (Heeng) spice, a staple ingredient in most of the Indian foods, is not grown in India. So, how does that work.
Asafoetida or heeng is a common ingredient in most Indian kitchens and it is added to dals, kadhis and simpler vegetarian dishes. A pinch of heeng in a ‘tadka’ makes the entire house smell delicious. India loves heeng so much that the country consumes 40% of the world’s production of the ingredient.
When we talk about these things, you might think that heeng is one of the best Indian spices ever. But what if we tell you that heeng is not cultivated in India but is imported from other countries?
Yes, you read that right. A species of the herb can be found in the deserts of Iran and the mountains of Afghanistan. In India, 100 gram of heeng can cost anywhere between ₹300–1,000 depending on the quality and origin of the product. India imports around 1,200 tonnes of the spice from Afghanistan, Iran and Uzbekistan and spends around $100 million per year for it. In 2019, India spent around ₹942 crore for importing roughly 1500 tonnes of raw heeng from the above-mentioned countries.
We spend a lot of money on importing heeng but we can cut down on our imports as we have cultivated the expensive spice on our soil now, making this as the first attempt for the introduction of asafoetida seeds in India in the past thirty years.
Cultivating Heeng In India
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) — Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) put in a lot of efforts to introduce this plant in India. The institute introduced six accessions of seeds from Iran via ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR), New Delhi.
The first seedling of heeng was planted in the village Kwaring of Lahaul valley on October 15 to record the initiation of its cultivation in India. The spice favours cold and dry conditions for its growth, so the cold desert areas of the Indian Himalayan region will be perfect for its cultivation.
The plant would take approximately five years for the production of oleo-gum resin in its roots. The saplings have been planted in around 5 hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh and the country is looking to scale up the production to planting in at least 300 hectares of land in the next three years.
Helping The Farmers
Sanjay Kumar, director of CSIR-IHBT, told ToI, that the cultivation of heeng will cost farmers nearly ₹3 lakh per hectare over next five years and provide them with a net return of minimum ₹10 lakh from the fifth year onwards. Kumar and his fellow scientists are working closely with government officials of Himachal Pradesh in a bid to train the local farmers about the correct way to cultivate heeng.
Kumar added that they have conducted training programmes for the farmers and state officials. IHBT has established a tissue culture lab by utilising the funds provided by the state government to the tune of ₹4 crore. This lab can quickly grow lakhs of saplings. Kumar also said that because of the lab, India will not even need to import asafoetida seeds from other countries.
Soon, India will produce its own ‘Made in India’ heeng and we wouldn’t have to import from other countries, saving millions of dollars. We might even reach a time where we would be exporting heeng to other countries!
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