I personaly think it's worth to share some information about this wonderful root and spice: turmeric, which is a root of the same family as ginger.
Turmeric has been used for over 2500 years in India and it's one of the healthiest ways to add flavor and color. In our cooking style in Gujarat there are some spices that are used on a daily basis - the most important being cumin, mustard, hing, curry leaves, chili and wonderful TURMERIC. Long known for its anti-inflammatory properties, recent research has revealed that turmeric can be helpful in the treatment of many different health conditions from cancer to Alzheimer disease. Turmeric benefits (though they say most of them are still under scientific study):
Anti-inflammatory
Treats arthritis
Can calm heartburn / upset stomach
A study showed that the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of curcumin (turmeric's component) may contribute to as much as a 65% lower chance of heart attack among bypass patients
Prevent diabetes
Fight cancer - some studies seemed to have observed that curcumin interferes with several important molecular pathways involved in cancer development, growth and spread
Prevent / treat Alzheimer's
Antifungal and antibacterial properties
I share one recipe with turmeric - which we prepare frequently since me and my girlfriend love it so much: Khadi. Kadhi is a traditional Gujarati preparation of a wonderful sweet and spicy curd (yogurt) mixture thickened with gram (chickpea) flour - it's basically like a soup. For me, it has been great for colds and very settling for the stomach. It makes you feel great since it's very 'sattvic' (balanced.) And it has turmeric! Also, when I cook I put some nice music... so the food gets this healing energy as well!
GUJARATI KHADI
Ingredients:
Yogurt – 1 cup, beaten Water – 3 cups Chickpea flour – 4 Tbsp Salt Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp Ginger – 1/2 tsp grated Green chilies – 1 finely chopped Sugar – 1 tsp (optional) for Tempering:
Ghee – 3 tsp Cloves – 4 Cinnamon stick – 1 Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds (methi) – 10 seeds Asafoetida (hing) – 1/8 tsp Curry leaves – 1 sprig Cilantro – 5 sprigs, chopped 1. In a pot, mix together Yogurt, Water and Chickpea Flour well 2. Add Salt, Sugar, Turmeric Powder, Ginger and Green Chilies 3. Bring mixture to a boil on medium flame, stirring continuously 4. Reduce flame to low 5. In a separate small pan, heat Ghee 6. Add Cloves, Cinnamon, Cumin Seeds, Mustard Seeds and Fenugreek Seeds (red chili optional) – allow them to splutter 7. Turn off flame and add Asafoetida (hing), Curry Leaves and Cilantro 8. Immediately, pour this ghee tempering to the boiled yogurt mixture and allow it to boil once more