I’d never really thought about slicing up fresh turmeric root, which seems to be increasingly available in lots of markets these days, and frying it up til crispy, until I tasted one of Jehanghir Mehta’s brilliant creations on Iron Chef. They are beyond delightful just sprinkled on top of just about anything. The taste is milder than you’d expect, with distinct earthy and savory tones. I’ve been floating them on soups, tossing them in salads, on top of fish, and even just snacking on them. I like to fry them in a combo of walnut oil and butter, topped off with plenty of good sea salt and black pepper. My next assignment: turmeric tofu!
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I have that book, I'm going to have to dig it up and look for the recipe. I see fresh turmeric all the time but haven't bought it, up till now…
Very nice I do similar chips with nearly all root veg and some times top with chaat masala
Wait, you can fry with walnut oil? I thought that'd destroy it. Learn something new every day!
Ed, It's true that walnut oil is best uncooked, but a gentle fry over low heat doesn't seem to bother it. Can definitely substitute any kind of neutral-ish oil, I think………..
i have tumeric growing crazy wild in my garden…. i never know what to do with it…. i will try to fry some up… i probably can't find (affordable or local) walnut oil… but i can try canola or olive oil and see how it goes.
thanks for the info!!!!
Wow, I'd KILL to have turmeric growing like mad in my garden, luck you, Jan! And yes, use any kind of oil, doesn't much matter.
Awesome. Better look for some turmeric. I guess I can this do this young ginger too??
Can absolutely do it with ginger. I sometimes add a small drizzle of syrup to ginger (jaggery syrup, ginger syrup, maple syrup, or honey) just to caramelize them a bit … great on raw soft tofu.
Interestingly, I was passing through the small flower market near my house and there was a plant with a huge stalk and an exotic bloom at the end of it. They were going for about 22 euros, but really gorgeous, so you could see why. I looked for the name: cucurma! Yup, turmeric in a pot. 22 bucks seemed like a lot to spend on something whose root you were after, but I did consider for a moment that it might throw out shoots if put into a much larger pot. Apparently these are quite common houseplants/balcony plants down here, since once I'd seen my first one, I saw them all over the place.
I just looked at google images of a turmeric plant — wow, they really are pretty. Buy it man! You could nurture it to perfection there in sunny France…………
Sadly, the balcony isn't as sunny as I'd like, and it's not that big, either. Be nice if I had a yard or something, though.