Preparing turmeric dishes

This favorite spice powder plays an important role in Indian cuisine, as it is found in almost every dish. It is also found in other cuisines of South Asia, Africa, Australia and South America, and due to the knowledge of numerous beneficial effects on health, it is increasingly present in the cuisines of the Western world. Excessive use of turmeric in food will result in a slightly bitter taste. Dried turmeric develops the aroma of orange and ginger and has a spicy, bitter and musky taste.

It is used in spice blends in the Caribbean, North Africa and Indonesia. In industrially processed foods, turmeric is present in mustard, sauces, cheese, butter, liqueurs and sweets.

It is used for seasoning and coloring salad dressings. Dips with mayonnaise for vegetables and white meat, with sour cream and spring onions with grilled vegetables and yogurt and chives with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes.

For soups, sauces and rice, it is enough to add a pinch of turmeric powder when cooking. Add a pinch of powder to the pancake batter and fill them with vegetables, poultry, fish and crabs.

In the modern kitchen, grilled salmon steaks, served with boiled asparagus and mashed potatoes, topped with warm Dutch sauce with the addition of turmeric, coriander and parsley will please every gourmet palate.

In Indian legume, potato and vegetable dishes and fish, lamb and poultry dishes, spice is indispensable, and one of the most famous is Dal Makhani dish of lentils and legumes with tomato, butter and cream sauce, enriched with specific spices of the region. Buttermilk with turmeric is used to help with stomach upsets. Turmeric tea is popular in Japan.

As a spice, turmeric is present in dishes from Africa, especially Morocco, such as traditional tangina, a type of peka, whether it is vegetable or chicken with cous-cous, lamb with vegetables, etc.

It is also used in marinated vegetables, relishi and chutneys.