This recipe originally was called “Pre-Game Paella” from Campbell’s kitchen and includes shrimp, turkey kielbasa, and chicken. I substituted some fresh vegetables for the chicken, but you could also go vegetarian in this dish by using beans, eggplant, or another hearty vegetable in the dish. And, as promised, here is Recipe #4 for Turmeric-mania!

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups uncooked long grain white rice
4 cups (32 oz) heated chicken broth
1 cup chunky salsa or picante sauce
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 pkg (16 oz) turkey or pork kielbasa
1 pkg (12 oz) frozen shelled and deveined small cooked shrimp, thawed
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen or refrigerated cooked chicken breast strips

Heat oil in a 12 inch or larger skillet. Add rice and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, salsa, and turmeric and heat to a boil. Cover skillet and reduce heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes.

Stir in kielbasa, shrimp, and chicken. Cover skillet and cook until rice is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10-15 minutes.

Seen below, with a vegetable medley replacing chicken breast strips:

Here is Turmeric-Mania Recipe #3, also from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. “Curries can be quite mild or extremely spicy. It all depends on the type of curry powder that is used to make them – and how much is added. Feel free to adjust the recipe according to your own taste.” I served this dish with Coconut-Ginger Rice and raisins.

2 tbsp all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 oz each)
1 tbsp plus 2 tsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (3/4 cup)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder (mild, medium, or hot)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 lb small red potatoes, cut into 1/2 in chunks
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, preferably “zesty” flavored (do not drain)

suggested accompaniments:
rice
plain yogurt
raisins
toasted almonds
store-bought mango chutney

Place flour on a plate. Dredge the chicken in flour, shaking off excess. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown, 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to a bowl and set aside.

Heat remaining 2 tsp olive oil in the same skillet. Cook onion and garlic, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and salt, cook for 1 more minute.

Add potatoes and 1 cup water, bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until potatoes are tender but still offer slight resistance when pierced with the tip of a knife, about 7 minutes. Stir in tomatoes with juice and 1/4 cup water.

Return chicken to skillet along with any juices in the bowl, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot with desired accompaniments on the side.

Shown below, served over Coconut-Ginger Rice and sprinkled with raisins. The slightly sweet flavor of the rice and raisins compliments this dish well. The potatoes, onion, and garlic used were all from the Farmer’s Market:

Here is Turmeric-mania Recipe #2, from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast. This recipe comes from the winter section of the book, but uses produce that is in season and available at Farmer’s Markets right now. Next time, I would use 4 bone-in chicken breasts instead of 8 bone-in chicken thighs. The spice combination is intriguing, cinnamon mixes with turmeric, ginger, and chili powder to create a sweet-spicy taste, but the real flavor comes from the broth, where all of the vegetables and chicken have been simmering.

8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 1/2 lbs)
3 carrots, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
3 onions, thinly sliced
1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes, drained
1 can (15.5 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) reduced-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp chili powder 
1/8 tsp pepper
2 medium or 1 large zucchini (about 1 lb), halved crosswise and quartered lengthwise
couscous, for serving

In a Dutch oven (or other 5-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid), combine all ingredients except zucchini and couscous. Break up tomatoes with a spoon.

Bring to a simmer over medium to medium-high heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add zucchini and cook until the chicken is cooked through yet still tender, about 15 minutes more.

Divide couscous evenly among 4 bowls or plates. Spoon the chicken, vegetables, and broth on top. Serve immediately.

Combine ingredients in a large pot:

Add zucchini to simmering pot:

Serve with couscous:

The couscous I used is a tri-color mixture of regular, tomato, and spinach flavored couscous. Plain couscous would work fine.

Here is my first recipe for Turmeric-mania, using fresh zucchini with a pre-made curry mix from McCormick. This particular brand of curry powder combines coriander, fenugreek, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, bay leaves, celery seed, nutmeg, cloves, onion, red pepper, and ginger (whew!). The recipe below is from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, and “a cup of this soup is delicious, served hot or cold.” Enjoy Turmeric-mania Recipe #1.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tbsp salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 1/2 lbs zucchini, about 3 medium/2 large, sliced 1 inch thick
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and curry powder. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add sliced zucchini and potato, plus 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

In batches, puree soup in a blender (do not fill more than halfway, liquids will expand), until smooth. Serve immediately or let cool and refrigerate in an airtight container until chilled. Garnish with toasted almonds.

Sauteing onion:

Adding garlic and curry powder:

Simmering zucchini:

Serving soup garnished with toasted almond slivers:

In the vein of Gingerama and Paprika-thon, I bring you Turmeric-mania, a month-long tribute to the spice most commonly known as a key ingredient in curry powder. Part of the ginger family, turmeric gives curry its bright yellow color, as well as a host of other food products such as prepared mustard, canned chicken broth, salad dressings, and cheeses.

A few interesting tidbits: turmeric protects food products from sunlight and can also be used to deter ants. It is also used in sunscreen (primarily in India) and is an anti-scarring agent when combined with milk.

Turmeric, sometimes referred to as the poor man’s saffron, is primarily used in Eastern cooking, specifically Indian and Moroccan dishes. It has a bitter taste, with aromas of orange and ginger, it’s close spice relative.

Curry powder is a mixture of several spices, usually including turmeric along with coriander, cumin, ginger, garlic, fennel seed, cardamon, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, and/or mustard seed. Curry powder ingredients will vary depending on the brand, but I will be using yellow or “generic” curry in most cases to ensure turmeric is being included in the recipe. Red and green curries are also available, but usually do not include turmeric (hence, a different color depending on the ingredients).

Both curry powder and turmeric have a strong, spicy flavor, so adjust recipes to suit your preferred level of heat in a dish. Most of my dishes will be fairly mild. Each recipe will include turmeric or a curry powder with turmeric in the ingredients. The catagory “Turmeric-mania” has been created, and recipes will be posted there as well as any other appropriate catagory. I am hoping for some Jenn Original Recipes, but I need to become familiar with the spices first, as I have not really cooked with curry powder or turmeric before.

Stay tuned, this should be interesting!