Easy Turmeric Rice Recipe - Little Sunny Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Is it OK to add turmeric to rice? ›

Yes, you can use turmeric to give rice a yellow tint. I recommend starting by melting some butter in a pot, adding minced onions and garlic and sweating them until the onions are translucent. Now add the rinsed rice and turmeric, stirring to coat the rice with the now yellow oil in the pan.

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.

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.

For tender grains of rice that easily separate, such as in a pilaf, use 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of rice. You can also use another liquid like stock in this 2:1 ratio. For slightly chewier, fluffy white rice, use 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of rice, or a 1.5:1 ratio.

Blood-thinning medications

Turmeric may strengthen the effects of these drugs, raising the risk of bleeding. Blood thinners include warfarin (Coumadin), clopidogrel (Plavix), and aspirin, among others.

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.

Turmeric Rice Benefits

The active ingredient is called curcumin. Studies of the health benefits of turmeric are not completely conclusive, but some studies do indicate that turmeric is good for weight loss and can help fight heart disease and cancer (more here).

Balance with Sweetness

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.

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!

Why can you cook with bay leaves but not eat them? ›

They seem to defy all cooking logic, and don't soften or become tender. As such, ingesting a bay leaf will result in an unpleasant sensation in your mouth, may scratch your mouth or esophagus, and could end up becoming a choking hazard.

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

Bring water to a boil before adding it to the rice.

Meanwhile, bring 2 parts of water to a boil. Pouring already boiling water on top of the rice helps control the exact amount of water you're adding, something that's important for basmati and jasmine rice because they're on the starchy side and can end up gummy.

One (1) cup raw rice yields 3 ½ cups cooked rice, or enough for 3 light eaters. To be sure you have enough rice, prepare 1 ½ cups raw rice for 3 or 4 people and 2 cups raw rice for 4 to 6 people. Time required to cook a pot of rice? Plan on 30 minutes from the moment you turn on the heat to when the rice is cooked.

The active ingredient is called curcumin. Studies of the health benefits of turmeric are not completely conclusive, but some studies do indicate that turmeric is good for weight loss and can help fight heart disease and cancer (more here).

No additional oil or salt is necessary, just a generous teaspoon of ground turmeric tipped straight into the cooking water. The result will have an attractive yellow hue, plus, it'll taste delicious, with a hint of turmeric's characteristic earthy, slightly peppery flavor.

With its slightly bitter taste, turmeric can overpower a dish if you use too much. The best way to release its delicate flavor is to use small amounts per recipe, first sautéing it in hot oil for just a few seconds.

Tests have been done on the curcumin in turmeric, and it appears that it is a reasonably robust compound, and while deep frying and high-temperature roasting do break it down, simmering at or below 100 degrees does not damage curcumin as much.