Feast in the MIddle East

Just happens to be my Garlic Turmeric Rice recipe! As of this writing, my recipe has now garnered over 850,000 views, with so many messages from all over the world, saying how this dish has now become a staple in their households. This no-fail formerly secret family recipe yields rice that is bursting with flavor and versatile with so many other dishes. My garlic addicted father, or baba, inspired this recipe.  He literally snacks on raw garlic bulbs, and adds them to everything, from his salads and meats to his sandwiches and rice. When making this special garlic rice, he minces the garlic and shallots as finely as possible until the form a paste for maximum flavor.  Also make sure you rinse, and then soak  the rice before cooking for at least a half an hour. This will eliminate excess starch, and make your rice fluffy and better able to absorb whatever sauces or stews you pour on top. The golden yellow turmeric, which comes from the ginger family, gives the rice a beautiful glow. This rice is compatible with any number of Middle Eastern stews or kebabs.

To celebrate the success of this rice, I recently published a Garlic Turmeric rice 2.0, where I convert leftover takeout rice into the same dish, albeit with a few minor adjustments. This adaptation came from a need to make use of rice that was flavorless and hard as a rock! As I hate wasting food, I added my turmeric rice tweaks to make the take-out rice brand new. I use this method at least twice a month, and serve this rice with stews, or roasted chicken and fish. It saves me so much time, and prevents food waste as well.

Just to give you a backgrounder on how this spice became popular in the Arab world–the earliest physical evidence of turmeric use by humans comes from ancient pots found near New Delhi, India. Scientists actually found turmeric residue at the bottom of these pots tracing back 4500 years. Fast forward a few thousand years, and the Egyptians wrote about their use of turmeric on papyrus around 1500 B.C. The ancient document mentioned turmeric as a dye and as a medicine.  Arab traders in the 7th century continued to introduce turmeric throughout the Middle East, hence this spice’s popularity in Moroccan tagines, Egyptian teas, Jordanian Mansaf,  Iraqi pickles,  Yemeni Chicken Mandi, and Lebanese sponge cakes called “Sfouf.”  Many cooks and holistic doctors today however use turmeric for its medicinal properties. Many holistic medical doctors use turmeric to help detoxify the liver, fight various cancers, speed metabolism, kill bacteria, disinfect cuts and burns, and even slow the progression of autoimmune diseases. When they said food is medicine, they must have been thinking about turmeric!

Now for a vegan adaptation, substitute the butter for more olive oil, and use veggie broth instead of chicken broth.

To see the original viral rice video, click on the video below:

To check out my latest adaptation for take-out rice, check out this video:

Garlic Turmeric Rice

Ingredients

*1 cup jasmine rice (soaked)

*4- 6 cloves of garlic

*One shallot

*1 tbsp butter

*1 tbsp olive oil

*1 tsp turmeric

*1 1/2 cups chicken broth

*Salt to taste

*Water for soaking the rice

*Directions

Pour enough water so there is at least two inches over the rice and let soak for 30 minutes, then rinse the rise and drain. Heat the butter and oil until melted. Add the garlic and shallots, and stir until soft and fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the rice, salt, and turmeric, and stir for about 3 minutes to toast the rice a little. Then add chicken broth. Wait until mixture boils, and then reduce heat to a low simmer, and cover rice to cook for about 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy.

How To Repurpose Leftover Takeout Rice

INGREDIENTS FOR RICE:

*1 tbsp. butter

*1 tbsp. olive oil

*2 cups leftover rice

*1/2 cup chicken broth

*Salt to taste

*1/2 tsp. turmeric

*3 cloves minced garlic

Heat up a skillet, and add the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth, salt,  and turmeric. Mix until the turmeric melts into the broth. Add the leftover rice, separating it with a fork if needed. Mix until the rice is well hydrated and serve. Depending on the kind of leftover rice, you might have to add a little more broth if needed.