Turmeric Root Pickle

The sightings of seasonal, indigenous, old school Indian ingredients in grocery stores stir a special set of emotions - those that begin in instant joy, continue with hoarding & dreaming up recipes and end with a sense of longing.

As soon as the season for fresh turmeric root arrives, our house help would begin with oiling her hands ( to prevent staining), squatting on the floor to peel and chop the nutritionally precious root, so mom can make the turmeric root pickle and add the pickle bowl to the abundant condiment plate. It was this help that I dearly missed as I was chopping up the knobs of the golden root. The turmeric root is generally combined with white ginger aka mango turmeric to make this pickle, but I couldn’t source those.

The matchstick-thin slices of turmeric root is pickled in salt and lemon juice, and are ready to be eaten within two days and refrigerated. A tbsp of the pickle eaten with meals, packs a punch with it’s immune boosting, anti-inflammatory, blood-purifying and tons of other benefits.

Any unwelcome sign of acne and my friend A’s mom would make her chew on a piece of fresh turmeric. The trick always worked. A calls her mum the OG hipster - where is the lie😅So whether it’s acne you are trying to rid of, or want to add a dose of immunity, or perhaps are looking for a nice salty-sour addition to your plate of DBSR or buddha bowl, pickled turmeric root is an absolute delight.

I pray that we see health foods beyond their pill form and add them to real meals for their added micro-nutrient and nutrition assimilation benefits. Healthy, wholesome foods are so much more than just a pill, no?

TURMERIC ROOT PICKLE

YOU WILL NEED

• 100 gms thinly sliced turmeric root

• 2/3 tbsp salt

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

METHOD

Stir well all the ingredients and store in an airtight glass jar. Let it pickle for 1-2 days and refrigerate for later use. Simple, quick and highly nutritious! The pickle keeps well in refrigerator for 4-6 weeks.