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This vibrant Turmeric Rice Recipe is a fast and easy side dish perfect for brightening up your weeknight dinner.
Hello friends! It’s been quite a while since I posted a new recipe. If you follow me on instagram, you might know that I recently had a baby! So that explains why I haven’t been able to cook or photograph new recipes. Now that my baby is all grown up at the age of 2 months, I’m ready to send him off to college and get back to work. 😆😆😆 Just kidding! But as I start to get the hang of being a mom, I am trying to get back in the swing of things with the blog.
Due to some complications, I spent about a week in the hospital after my baby was born. After eating hospital food for several days, my brother saved us and brought us some “real food” from a local Mediterranean restaurant. It was probably some of the best food we have ever tasted. Influenced by sleep deprivation, stress and 3 days of hospital food, but nevertheless, delicious.
We loved it so much that we got takeout many more times from that restaurant during the first few weeks of our baby’s life. Mr. Briar LOVED the turmeric rice, and asked me if I could recreate it at some point. This Turmeric Rice isn’t exactly what they serve, but it might be even better!
WHAT IS TURMERIC?
Turmeric is a rhizome (a tuber, similar to a root) like ginger – in fact, turmeric and ginger are in the same family! The powder made from the root is bright yellow, and sometimes used to dye foods. It will stain, so be careful when working with it! Turmeric is not spicy, and is often used in curry.
WHAT ARE THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF TURMERIC?
The jury is out on exactly how healthy turmeric is. Turmeric contains Curcumin which is an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant. These are great for many things – boosts brain function, fights heart disease and cancer. However, turmeric only contains 3% curcumin, and the body doesn’t absorb curcumin very well. But whether or not turmeric has miraculous medical powers, you can still feel good about adding it to your food!
HOW TO MAKE TURMERIC RICE
- Rinse rice until water runs clear, drain.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter.
- When butter is melted, add onion and garlic, saute until softened.
- Add rice and turmeric. Stir until combined. Add chicken broth and bay leaf, cover pan. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, allow to simmer 15-20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf, fluff with a fork and serve.
Turmeric Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup jasmine rice rinsed
- 1 and 1/2 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 1 bay leaf dried
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Instructions
- Rinse rice until water runs clear, drain.
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, add olive oil and butter.
- When butter is melted, add onion and garlic, saute until softened.
- Add rice and turmeric. Stir until combined. Add chicken broth and bay leaf, cover pan. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat, allow to simmer 15-20 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Remove bay leaf, fluff with a fork and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is SO good. I added 1 tsp cumin for more flavor and sautéed onions until they were slightly caramelized. This is my new go to rice recipe! I can’t wait to make it again.
Yay! So happy to hear that Bethany!
Made this to go alongside some chicken pitas tonight and we all fought over the last serving, kids included. This will be a new staple in our house. Thank you!
Yay! I love hearing that! So glad your family loved it.
so easy and yummy!!!
So glad to hear it!
I really loved this recipe for rice. I made it to go with your Mediterranean bowl. It was a big hit with my husband and me. Delicious as is!
Wonderful! I am so happy to hear that!
This rice was a huge winner in my house. It looks beautiful, tastes delicious and the turmeric, as an anti-inflammatory, is so hearty for you. We paired with with the recipe for Mediterranean Lamb Bowls, and enjoyed the two so much that they will become part of our meal rotation.
I’m so happy you loved the rice, Katherine!
Love this recipe. I made it to go with braised beef short ribs and gravy from the drippings. Oh, a tossed salad on the side.
So happy to hear that! It sounds like a delicious dinner!
Can I use traditional white long grain rice if I can’t access Jasmine Rice? I really want to try the recipe.
Hi Kailyn, that should be fine!
I really loved this rice! And what a great way to add more turmeric into my diet. The changes I made were no onions (can’t stand them!) and I used 3 frozen garlic cubes and 1 frozen ginger cube. So yummy!
So glad you loved it Kimberly!
Rice turned out amazing! So easy and quick as a side dish. I added a bit of fresh ginger. Threw the onion, garlic and ginger in a mini processor and chopped them up in 2 seconds. Everyone loved it – husband and kids!
So glad you loved it! Love the addition of ginger!
Excellent recipe! I used veggie broth instead of chicken and I was not disappointed. Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful! So glad you loved it!
Loved this recipe made it with lamb chops and added mushrooms to the saute before the chicken broth. Husband loved it too! There is something about the flavor of jasmine rice that is so pleasing. Thank you for the recipe.
I love that you added mushrooms! So glad you guys loved it Sheila!
I tried this recipe…kind of bland. I added some lemon zest and that was just what it needed! Of course, I can’t cook with garlic in my house, mother is allergic, and I’m allergic to onions..lol
Hi Luke – Yes I can imagine it would need some extra flavors if you can’t use garlic and onion. The lemon zest is a great idea!
Well if you left out the garli and onions of course it was bland. I don’t think you should have posted that it was bland when you didn’t follow recipe.
Instead you should have stated, we had allergy issues and had to leave out garlic and onion. To keep it from being bland I added lemon zest!
so tasty!
So glad you loved it!
Love this recipe. I tried it as is a couple times and then added a little cayenne and some precooked andouille sausage. Yum!
So glad you love it Kevin! Those sounds like great additions!
Hey! How much approximately is 1 serving? I didn’t see a serving size and wanted to check before I made it, but it does sound really good 🙂
Hi Zach – it is 1/4 of the whole recipe, which is slightly more than 1/2 cup – A heaping 1/2 cup I would say.
Not really a comment, a question I am allergic to poultry could pork or vegetable broth be used?
Hi Dottie – yes, absolutely!
First time making it . It’s delish, will be a staple to make at home 🙂
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks Ivana!
Love this recipe. Reminds me of kitchari!
Thank you Sachin!
This is the perfect side dish! I love turmeric rice!!
Thanks Megan!
What is the purpose of rinsing Jasmine rice? In Hawaii, depending on who the target consumer is, we prefer rice that is slightly “sticky” in order to gather it easily with the served foods.
Hi Phil – I am a recent convert to rinsing rice, and of course it is ultimately personal preference. I like it because it helps the rice to be fluffy and not gummy.
Exactly. This is a Mediterranean rice generally, not Japanese. Only use sticky rice with Asian food…lol just my opinion.