Mention fennel to any Orthodox South Indian Lady (preferably over 60) and in all likelyhood, their pleasantly lined faces will scrunch up into a grimace, coupled with the eyes crinkling in disgust and the nostrils crimping tightly shut as if the mere mention of the spice elicited an odor of skunk. For some reason, fennel (derogatorily mispronounced in Tamil as 'SOAMBU' , a deliberate corruption of the hindi 'Saunf') was always looked down upon in orthodox cooking, and the best way to add fuel to this fire is to cheekily point out the fact that the lump of asafetida that they hold so highly in regard is nothing but an extract of a wild variety of fennel! <br />I believe that Food & Festivals need no reason and had made this rice polo on the Persian new year day (Navroze) a couple of days back. The recipe makes use of fennel in3 forms, the bulb, marinaded & roasted along with shallots & pepper, a tempering of tender green fennel seeds with nigella & finally a liberal garnish of the fennel fronds.

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