Easy Turmeric Rice Recipe - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Is it OK to add turmeric to rice? ›

This Turmeric Rice aka Indian Yellow Rice is a flavor bomb, super easy to make, healthy plus delicious. It makes for a great weeknight dinner, ready under 30 minutes. Serve it with grilled veggies, tandoori chicken, grilled kababs, curry, raita or a stew.

While some varieties of rice naturally have a yellow cast, cooks across Latin America, South Africa, South Asia, the Meditteranean, and their diasporas often turn to highly pigmented flavorings like achiote (also called annatto), saffron, or turmeric to lend plain white rice a bright yellow color and singular flavor.

TO STORE: Refrigerate cooled rice in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers with a splash of broth in a pot on the stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave. TO FREEZE: Freeze cooled rice in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months.

After combining the rice, water, and salt in the pot, I just tuck a single bay leaf into the middle of the rice before popping the lid on. The leaf tends to stay toward the top of the rice during cooking, so it's easy to pluck it out just before fluffing and serving.

Avoid using turmeric together with other herbal/health supplements that can also affect blood-clotting. This includes angelica (dong quai), capsicum, clove, dandelion, danshen, evening primrose, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, horse chestnut, Panax ginseng, poplar, red clover, saw palmetto, and willow.

Since the GI tract processes food for elimination, what a person eats can affect the color of their stool. Carrots, sweet potatoes, turmeric, and foods that contain yellow food coloring may cause stool to become yellow. A diet high in fat or gluten can also lead to yellow stool.

It not only imparts a beautiful and bright yellow colour and flavour to your curries, rice and desserts, but also is known for its medicinal properties that are used to manage many health conditions. In fact it is said that turmeric can help you lose weight too.

Sweet ingredients, like honey or sugar, can help counteract the bitterness of too much turmeric. Add small amounts of sweeteners until you achieve a more balanced flavour profile.

Turmeric and weight loss

Animal studies indicate that this compound may promote weight loss, reduce fat tissue growth, curb weight regain, and enhance your sensitivity to the hormone insulin ( 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ).

How do you know if turmeric has gone bad? ›

Fresh turmeric powder should have a strong and distinctive aroma that is slightly pungent. If the powder does not have a strong aroma or has a musty smell, it may have lost its potency. Similarly, if the powder tastes bland or has a bitter or unpleasant taste, it may no longer be fresh.

That said, while bay leaves are technically edible, you won't want to eat them. They are stiff and remain so even through the cooking process. Bay leaves are hard to chew and not pleasant to consume. Eating them could scratch the mouth or esophagus, and this could be uncomfortable (or worse).

This is because eucalyptol is a particularly fragrant essential oil that insects don't love, so they stay away from the food source (your flour and rice). The downside is also precisely why bay leaves may work: your dry goods will now smell like bay leaves!

In fact, you can give any regualr rice a basmati like flavour by a just adding two bay leaves while cooking rice.

As we are just adding a teaspoon of turmeric, it adds just a touch of earthy flavor which wonderfully complements the garlic, butter, and onion which are the main components of this delicious yellow rice.

Cooking turmeric for just a few minutes does not reduce its nutritional value, but boiling turmeric over high heat or pressure cooking it reduces the effectiveness of Curcumin. However, cooking it for a small duration and pairing it with souring agents may help in better absorption of Curcumin in the body.

A half a teaspoon of ground turmeric is usually plenty for seasoning bean dishes, rice dishes, whole grains, soups, stews, sauces, marinades, and pickling brines. Ground turmeric can also be used to add appetizing color to a breakfast scramble, a creamy batch of mac and cheese, and even cakes and desserts.

I would typically add it just after the "tadka" or tempering of mustard or cumin seed or whole spices, or when I am sauteing onions. To enhance the effects of turmeric when you cook with it, add some black pepper into the recipe.