Turmeric is one of the most important spices we use in everyday cooking. It has so many health benefits and is commonly used to heal Cold and cough in infants. When my kids were small and when I started to give them turmeric milk to heal their sour throat, I was really thinking about making homemade turmeric powder as I was very uncomfortable using readymade powder, after hearing about it being adulterated.
So I started growing turmeric at home. Every year, usually at the time of June, fresh turmeric will start sprouting and we should plant them at that time .It will take six months to grow and when it is ready, the plant will start wilting and leaves will become yellowish brown and become dry. This happens during end of December and is then ready to harvest.
This method is what my maternal grandmother used to follow-
Method:
-Take fresh turmeric rhizomes, remove mud, extra roots etc. Wash it several times until it is clean.
-Now slice those rhizomes.
-Take one cooker vessel and put all these sliced pieces and steam cook (without cooker weight) in a cooker or idly steamer for 10 to 15 minutes.
-Remove this and dry under the sun for 2 to 3 days or until it is crisp. Usually it takes 2 to 3 days.
-When it is crisp, take small mixer jar and powder it.
– Sieve this and collect fine powder and repeat this process until all the dried slices are powdered.
-Store this in a dry airtight container.