As a powder, turmeric is by far the prettiest spice out there, which is a good thing, because six recipes later, my kitchen, and all my kitchen tools, are indelibly stained a bright persimmon orange.
Turmeric is part of the ginger family. Plants have lush, waxy leaves and many dark pink flowers arranged in a stack, pineapple style. It can be dried and ground, pickled, grated and boiled, both in sweet and savoury situations.
Cooking with the fresh rhizome – more slender than ginger’s knobbly girth, and altogether bolder in colour – was revelatory. When first cut, the juice coats your knife with a glue that’s as persistent as the ink it yields. And it’s really fruity, in a way that the spice in powdered form simply does not prepare you for.
The winning recipe: Chocolate mousse with turmeric and orange
The surprising success of turmeric in a sweet! Chilli and chocolate might be a known quantity, but Fadime Tiskaya’s addition of the golden root takes it somewhere entirely new. It’s fruity, crunchy, juicy and as spiced as hot sauce.
Serves 4-6
For the syrup
30ml water
45g caster sugar
Peel of 1 orange, thinly sliced
10g fresh turmeric, peeled and finely chopped
For the mousse
175g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
5g fresh turmeric, grated
½ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
3 large eggs, separated
3 tbsp caster sugar
1 tbsp icing sugar, sifted
175g double cream
Fresh cherries, stoned, to serve
1 For the syrup, put the water and sugar in a small pan and bring to the boil until the sugar dissolves completely. On a low heat, add the orange peels and turmeric, let it boil for about 5 minutes, then set aside.
2 Put a heatproof bowl over a pan with simmering water in it, ensuring that the bottom of the bowl doesn’t touch the water. Put the chocolate into the bowl, add your fresh and ground turmeric, as well as the cayenne pepper, and let it all melt together.
3 Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with caster sugar until smooth. In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with the icing sugar until it’s stiff.
4 Turn the heat down under the chocolate, add the egg yolks and quickly whisk until combined and the mix has a thick consistency, then add the double cream and continue to whisk.
5 Next, add the syrup and whisk to combine. Take off the heat and fold in the egg whites, then pour into individual serving bowls. Let it rest in the fridge for 30-60 minutes, add your cherries and serve.
Channa dal hummus
Eating this, you do wonder why ColonialCravings’s innovative twist isn’t the default setting for a tub of the chickpea classic: these are naturally kindred flavours.
Serves 4
½ red onion, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp chilli flakes
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
¼ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tomato, diced
400g tin of chickpeas, drained
Salt and lemon juice, to taste
1 Gently fry the onion in a little of the olive oil until it is tender and starting to colour. Add the garlic to the pan along with the ginger and spices, then fry for a few seconds.
2 Mix in the tomato and continue to cook for a few minutes more over a moderate heat, ensuring you don’t burn the garlic or the spices.
3 Put the chickpeas, the onion mix and the rest of your oil in your food processor, then blitz until you are happy with the consistency.
4 Season with salt and lemon juice to taste, then thin out with a little water if the hummus is too thick for your liking.
Golden milk
Mehrunnisa Yusuf remembers being given mugs of haldi doodh, or turmeric milk, whenever a sore throat befell her as a child. It’s a remedy she now makes for her husband, albeit with a few contemporary – and in my view, entirely welcome – flavour additions.
Serves 1
A small stick of cinnamon
2 green cardamom pods
250ml milk
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp orange blossom water
Honey, to taste
1 Put the whole spices and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 1-2 minutes.
2 Stir in the ground turmeric and orange blossom water. Strain the infused milk into a mug. Sweeten, as desired, with honey.
Malaysian turmeric fried chicken
Rachel Kelly, this is some fine fried chicken you’ve made. Turmeric and poultry, or ayam kunyit, is a pairing that always works, especially in this umami, Asian setting.
Serves 3-4
8 chicken legs
3cm piece of fresh turmeric, finely chopped (or 2 tsp ground turmeric)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp light brown sugar
A pinch of salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 red onion, chopped
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying
1 Make sure the chicken pieces are dry - pat them with paper kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture.
2 Combine the turmeric with the soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Rub the mixture over the chicken pieces. Sprinkle with the chopped onion, then stir well to combine. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.
3 Heat 3-4 tbsp oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry on high for about 5 minutes until browned all over. Turn the heat down to medium and continue to cook for another 10 minutes or until the chicken is crisp, browned and cooked through.
4 Put the chicken on a wire rack over a baking sheet to drain and rest for a few minutes. Serve while still hot.
Saag paneer
To add depth and richness to a rather excellent sauce, Heidi Gough uses just a touch of ground turmeric – and often that’s really all you need.
Serves 2
100g paneer
2 tsp gram (chickpea) or plain flour
2 tbsp oil
For the sauce
1 tsp oil
½ onion, finely chopped
A pinch of ground cumin
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp turmeric
1 dried chilli
200g tinned chopped tomatoes
100ml water
2 tsp mango chutney
50g fresh spinach
½ tsp garam masala
A handful of fresh coriander
A pinch of salt, to taste
1 First, make the sauce. Fry the onion in 1 tsp oil until it begins to brown. Then add the cumin, ginger, garlic, ground coriander and turmeric to the pan, crumble in the chilli and give it all a stir. Add the tomatoes, water and chutney. Let this simmer for 10 minutes, adding further water if needed. It should be reasonably thick by the end of the cooking time.
2 Meanwhile, cut the paneer into cubes and dust with the flour. Fry the dusted paneer in the oil until browned, then drain for a couple of minutes on kitchen roll.
3 Once the sauce cooking time is up, add the spinach and fried paneer, with a little water if needed. Bubble away until the spinach has wilted and cooked and the paneer heated through.
4 When it’s ready, stir in the garam masala, coriander and a little salt, if liked. Serve with rice or chapatis.
Turmeric potatoes with spinach
David Nelson roasts the grated rhizome in oil, which allows the colour to get to work beautifully. I’d make these roast potatoes even without the spinach and the yoghurt.
Serves 4
800g floury potatoes
6 banana shallots, peeled and sliced lengthways
3 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp sweet paprika
1½ tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic, crushed
4 tbsp groundnut oil
½ tsp fresh turmeric, grated
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp coriander seeds
Salt, to taste
2 large handfuls of spinach
To serve
100ml goat’s yoghurt
A handful of fresh coriander
1 Heat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Cut the potatoes into large pieces and cook in a deep pan of salted water till approaching tender. Drain in a colander. Give them a slight shake. Put them in a bowl and add the shallots.
2 Mix together the ground turmeric, paprika, chilli flakes, ground cumin and garlic, then sprinkle over the potatoes and shallots. Mix slowly and gently with a large spoon.
3 Add 1 tbsp of the groundnut oil to a pan and throw in the grated fresh turmeric, mustard and coriander seeds. Put in the oven for 10 minutes.
4 Remove the baking tray. Spoon the seeds to one side, then gently add the potatoes and shallots. Spoon the seeds over the potatoes and add the remaining groundnut oil.
5 Sprinkle with sea salt flakes, to taste, and return the tray to the oven until golden and crisp.
6 Put the spinach in a pan with the lid on a medium heat for 1-2 minutes or just until it wilts. Remove the spinach from the heat and gently toss it with the potatoes and shallots. Add 1 tbsp yoghurt and some torn coriander and serve.A
