Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Turmeric, known as Kunyit in Malay and Indonesian, is also part of the ginger family; outside of Asia, it’s more readily available in powdered form.
A must in many Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, it imparts a sweet, sharp lemony yet spicy flavour to any dish it’s used in.
How to grow Turmeric Leaves
Turmeric leaves have an absolutely delightful scent, both lemony and spicy at the same time, there is no substitute for them. Turmeric leaves are essential for that melt in the mouth, world renowned Malay/Indonesian dish known as Beef Rendang.
So get your hands on some fresh turmeric root and pot it up with any standard compost.
- Fill the pot up with compost.
- Place the turmeric half in, half out of the compost, and water thoroughly. Then water when the top of the compost looks dry.
Turmeric, as you have probably heard, is a wonder root. The West has only in recent times caught on to its benefits, something Asians have known for ages, turmeric has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine.
Power of Turmeric
The curcumin in turmeric is responsible for much of its potency. Turmeric is believed to be:
- anti inflammatory
- an anti depressant
- an anti coagulant
- a digestive aid
- able to help some cancer patients
These are just a few of the benefits as claimed by proponents of turmeric.
If you’d like to read about other Herbs and Ingredients, I have a page for both of them. Just click on the words to get to the appropriate pages.
And you’ll find recipes using turmeric in the Singapore and Malaysia page as well as the Indian, Pakistani and Sri Lankan page.
