This recipe is for Turmeric Coconut Cream, which has concentrated flavors and a large amount of turmeric. It serves as a basis for turmeric milk: warm one or two teaspoons with a cup of (rice/nut/coconut) milk and you’re set. You could also add the cream to your tea, or porridge, or raw pie filling, or even a curry. Be creative!

Medicine

Turmeric has many health benefits, according to ancient cultures as well as modern-day scientific research.

Check out this article if you want a starting point to know more: http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/science-confirms-turmeric-effective-14-drugs. Please let me know if you find a better, more objective overview (i didn’t put in the time).

How to get the most out of turmeric

The miracles happen in petri dishes mainly; when you eat turmeric, its effect is more subtle although still amazing. Science is now catching up with ancient knowledge and finding ways to increase the effectiveness of turmeric/curcumin.

As old cuisines have intuitively known and implemented, there’s some things we can do to reap as much benefit from it as possible: when preparing…

– combine with some fat,
– add black pepper
– don’t cook or heat for too long

All are taken care of in this recipe!

Recipe for Turmeric Coconut Cream

  • 1 cup thick coconut milk of good quality (or use santen)
  • 2 heaping tablespoons of ground kurkuma (about 20 gr)
  • 4 cardamom pods or a few pinches of cardamom
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 clove
  • some ground black pepper
  • a few tablespoons of raw honey or agave syrup

In stead of the above fresh spices, you may want to use one of these ready-made spice mixes: Chinese 5 Spices or the Indian Chai or Garam Masala. In any case, be sure to add black pepper! Add a tiny pinch or drop of vanilla (essence) to bring out all these flavors even better.

Slowly heat the thick coconut milk with the spices in a pan. Do not boil. Simmer until the spices give off their taste and the milk has reached the consistency of a rather smooth cream.

Let it cool down a bit. The cream will set. Then stir in the honey and turmeric. We don’t heat the honey because it would lose its antibacterial power (same reason why we buy real, raw honey and not the cheap one).

Have you tasted it? It will taste creamy, powdery, spicy, sweet, earthy and delicious. (If it tastes sour, your coconut milk is crappy.)

Pour or spoon the cream into a clean jar. Sigh… ahhh. I drink turmeric milk every morning and night now. Perfect bedtime drink!