Turmeric Powder is an essential ingredient in almost all Indian cooking. It is also used in many other cuisines around the world. Aside from its health benefits as an antioxidant and having anti-inflammatory properties, turmeric powder adds a subtle flavor and warm yellow coloring to a dish if used properly. If too much turmeric powder is added to the dish, it can result in a bitter taste and excessive yellow coloring. But I cannot imagine making a savory dish without the addition of turmeric.

Instead of buying turmeric powder from the store, you can grind your own. Fresh turmeric roots are available in many grocery stores if you don’t have any growing in your garden. Choose turmeric roots that are tender with thin skin and firm yellow flesh. Here’s my method for making turmeric powder. 

Ingredients:

Fresh Turmeric Roots

Rinse the turmeric roots and gently scrape off the skin (it’s not necessary to peel it). Slice thinly and arrange in a single layer on a tray lined with paper towels. You can either dry it on your kitchen countertop or outside in the sun. Remember to turn the slices several times during the drying process. The drying time will vary depending not humidity and the thickness of the slices. Drying in the sun also will also cause the turmeric slices to lose some color. You can also use a dehydrator to speed up the drying process.

Here is some of my dried turmeric slices. Since it was dried in the sun, it’s lost some color. Instead of grinding all the turmeric slices at once, you can store in the air tight container in a cool dark place and grind enough powder to last you several weeks.

Place the dried turmeric slices in a food processor, coffee grinder or some kind of electric spice grinder. In India, the turmeric slices are pounded into a powder using a stone mortar and pestle. I am speeding up the process by using the smaller container of my Vitamix.

Grind to a fine powder. Sift using a fine mesh sieve if desired.

Store in air tight container.