Once you get over the name 'Devil's Dung'! and you have the opportunity to inhale it aroma - you will understand why is is so aptly named!   Also know as 'Asafoetida' prounounced Ass-a-feh-te-dah - yes it is a spice - well a resin or sap that oozes from an incision in the rhizome of a species of giant fennel, Ferula foetida.  

Now, to the odour - an offensive smell, not unlike rotting garlic and foetid - hence 'F. foetida'.  Devil's Dung is available in most Indian grocery stores.  The putrid odour that exudes from the spice can only be contained it it is well wrapped after immediately after use and stored in a hermetically sealed container!  Leave it open in your kitchen at your peril!  

Having said that, it does have some positives, some ayurvedic practitioners recommend it for digestive problems among other cures. 

Once you are over the acrid bitter taste, the spice mellows and amplifies the flavour of food.  Commonly referred to by the Indian community as 'Hing', it is that peculiar uncommon flavour you can sometimes taste in authentic Indian Cuisine!

Enjoy the video, be adventurous and give this unusual spice a try - and give our taste buds a workout!