Turmeric is available in three forms: fresh turmeric root (top left), dried turmeric root (top right) and ground turmeric powder (bottom).

Dear Big Apple Curry,

On your site, like many others, it says that in order to make turmeric-powder, the root has to be boiled before drying. A friend of ours has a Nepali friend and she insists that there is no need to boil the roots first. In her village they just cut the root very thin and then oven-dry it. 

Can you shed some light as to WHY the root has to be boiled first?

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Dear Reader!

Thank you for your email inquiry, how wonderful that your searching led you to visit Big Apple Curry, thank you for reaching out with your question! Yes, as I explained in my post Spice Spotlight: Turmeric, most people recommend first boiling fresh or raw turmeric root (pictured above, top left) before drying it. Here are a couple of thoughts in response to your question:

Typically, people buy turmeric that has already been dried

First, here are some family anecdotes for you:

• My grandmother who lived in South India, routinely bought dried turmeric root from local merchants, which she then used a) in cooking and b) for various Hindu rituals and religious ceremonies. For the former, the dried turmeric root was ground, likely using a heavy-based mortar and pestle, and for the latter, the dried root was used as is or ceremonial purposes. It’s not clear whether the dried root she bought had been previously boiled before it was sold.
• My mother who immigrated to Canada from India, buys both dried turmeric root and ground turmeric powder for cooking, but points out it isn’t that easy to grind dried turmeric root in an electric spice grinder (she has tried without success), as it is too tough and won’t break down easily.

To Boil or Not to Boil?

Second, my research reveals (as yours did) that most folks recommend boiling the root first (for up to an hour or more) before drying it because it is quite tough and the process of boiling softens it up in order for it to be successfully dried and ground. If your Nepalese friend recalls cutting the fresh root and oven-drying it without boiling it, then you have certainly taught us something! I read about one woman who boils the fresh root and then dries it in the sun for 10 days; the colour looked more brown as opposed to deep yellow. I suspect that boiling it and then oven-drying it is a faster process (i.e. several hours), so hence, boiling it first has become more common. I wonder if there is a significant difference in the taste, texture, and color.

Finally, some people use fresh turmeric root in a similar way as fresh ginger root — in fruit and vegetable smoothies (they peel and grate it), while others use it to make fresh turmeric root pickle (akin to raw lemon or mango pickles).

I hope this helps!

This Big Apple Curry reader sent me his photo — he compared commercially-available turmeric powder (left) with his homemade version (right), which he made by oven-drying fresh turmeric root and then put it into a coffee grinder. Result? He says “it’s not as fine as the store-bought version, the the taste is more “earth like” and has a slight bitter after taste.”