The Turmeric

The Sunday mornings are usually reserved  for  fruits and vegetable shopping from "Star Bazar". It's  9 km from my place but I love to shop  my vegetable and fruits  from there. The huge quantities and freshness of the stock attracts me and I usually visit every fortnight. I bring huge stocks, which takes me comfortably through twelve to fifteen days.
This store is very popular and after few visits , people started recognizing each other. First an eye contact, followed by a smile and then a little conversation  - "Seen you after a long time, kahin bahar gaye they" or "all well" etc. It has become a place to make friends. Women exchange recipes and cooking tips. This  knowledge exchange motivates one to experiment and try new dishes.

This February, I saw huge stock of yellow turmeric. The golden colour was so inviting. During one of the "recipe exchanged programme" at "Star Bazaar", I came to know that raw turmeric cut in julienne and soaked in lime juice makes a very tasty and healthy accompaniment for meals. It's quite similar to ginger in lemon in taste. The yellow gold was so tempting and the brilliant idea to make my own spice made me buy a huge quantity. 

Food adulteration is a real issue of our times. The powdered spices have more chances of being not so pure. With such fresh stock of turmeric, I thought of making haldi powder at home. 

How I made my turmeric powder?

1. Soak the fresh turmeric in water for 15 minutes. Wash them clean with  water. Dry each piece with cloth. This is done to clean each piece of any mud or any other dirt. 

2.  I microwaved it for 30 minutes in total , in multiples of 10 minutes , three times. The golden yellow colour was awesome. During microwaving the slices, the whole kitchen was filled with sweet  aroma of turmeric.

3. When the haldi pieces are cooled to normal temperature, grind the dried microwaved slices of turmeric. 
And lo, you became a proud owner of pure, fresh, rich golden yellow turmeric with divine aroma. 😊

Since I live in an apartment and have sun only in the first half of the day, I had to microwave the slices to dry them. If you have plenty of sun, they can be sun-dried and grounded.

Share your experiences about the process or cooking with this pure haldi. 

Happy spicing!!:)