Jimbu
A dried herb from a wild allium of the Nepali highlands, fried in fat to give lentil dishes a mild, oniony, garlicky aroma.
Jimbu is the dried, thread-like leaf of an allium that grows in the Himalaya and is gathered mainly in Mustang and other high regions of Nepal. Raw it looks almost like straw and smells of little; only when briefly fried in hot ghee or oil does it release an aroma somewhere between chives, shallot and garlic, noticeably gentler and more earthy than fresh alliums. For that reason it is almost always used as a tempering, poured over dal, potatoes or vegetables at the end. It can be found in Nepali and some Indian grocery shops and by mail order; kept dry and dark it lasts a long time.
Substitute:
There is no true equivalent, but dried chives briefly fried in ghee with a small pinch of finely chopped garlic point in the right direction. What is missing is the earthy, faintly smoky depth of the herb, and garlic easily takes over, so use it sparingly.