Turmeric, what a lovely spice! It is a gift from God to mankind for it possesses several healing powers. Being a Hindu, we have used Turmeric in the service of God, and little Turmeric domes represent Lord Ganesh, the Elephant God. Turmeric, the very name reminds me of all the wonderful dishes in which it is used. You will find that I use it extensively in most recipes listed on my blog. As a child whenever I visited my uncle’s house in the beautiful town of Madhugiri, in Karnataka state, India, I would be greeted by a very large front yard freshly swept with cow dung and Turmeric mixture. The dung, which is just the digested leftovers of grass and clovers from the nearby field (gifts from our holy cows!) and peppery smell of Turmeric would mingle to form a yellowish green paste left for drying over the muddy expanse in front of the house. Once this was dry, the ladies of the house and the children would make geometric patterns with white rice flour on the yellowish green carpet! It was much fun. The dung has an immensely cooling effect on our bare feet and turmeric has antibacterial benefits that kept our feet hygienic. It was fun piling up flowers on the lovely Geometric patterns which we called Rangoli. A Rangoli is a symbol of Welcome to weary guests.

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Turmeric is used extensively in South Indian cooking. India is in fact one of the largest producers of this spice. I have very fond memories of my relatives and friends cooking with this spice all the time. Whenever I hurt myself, my grand mother would apply a pinch on my wound after washing it with diluted tamarind water. She mostly mixed the turmeric with coconut oil before applying it as she said that scars would not form when this formula was used. During fevers or cold seasons, she would add a pinch of turmeric and black pepper powder to hot milk, sweeten it with honey and make me drink it. I used to love it very much. I now use all these remedies for my own family today. As a beauty product, my grandmother mixed turmeric and neem powders in milk cream and made a paste for me to leave on my skin for a while. She used to apply liberal quantities of castor oil in my hair and leave me basking in the early morning sun for a few minutes before washing it all off with Shikakai (Soap nut) powder. Grandmother always believed that this was the secret to beautiful, thick, long black hair and glowing skin. I follow these beauty regimes as much as possible to this day. Grandmother always thought that this would heal painful skin conditions like psoriasis and excessive dry skin.

Turmeric actually is a wet root, very orange in color. We use this root to make chutneys and pickles. The taste is really incredible. We usually use it as a side in many dishes and snacks. This root may be purchased in Indian grocery stores. Boil the roots until tender (for 45 minutes), dry in shade until brittle, and powder it uniformly for use in future. Or simply drive to an Indian grocery store and buy a lot of turmeric for a great price and use extensively. If you are new to turmeric, please read about it and also consult your doctor. There are no known side effects, and if there are, then please let me know.

Turmeric is in news all the time for the various health benefits it has to offer. The wisdom of our ancestors keep getting proved all the time. Turmeric is a beauty product, a healer, a holy herb, and an antibacterial. It has anti inflammatory properties to it. Turmeric, a must have item in my pantry.