Turmeric Coconut Rice is a lovely side dish that will brighten any plate with its gorgeous, bright golden-yellow color. Recipes using fresh turmeric are aromatic, earthy, and have subtle notes of citrus and ginger.

Inspiration for Turmeric Coconut Rice

My culinary affair with fresh turmeric continues.

I figured since we learned how to use fresh turmeric and take full advantage of it’s beauty, flavor and health benefits, we might as well cook with it as much as we can. I hope you’re as into it as I am.

I love how you can color food naturally, and add flavor in recipes using fresh turmeric.

What’s in this recipe?

Basmati rice
olive oil
onion
garlic
jalapeño pepper
fresh turmeric
coconut water

What is Turmeric?

Turmeric is the rhizome of a plant that belongs to the ginger family.
It’s used for flavoring and coloring food, mostly in Asian cooking.
Originally it was used as a fabric dye.
Turmeric is also commonly consumed for its medicinal qualities, as it has dozens of known health benefits.
Turmeric is used in both its dried, powder form, and fresh.
This is a spice that’s almost always found in curry.

fresh turmeric

I hope you enjoyed the Vegan Tomato-Turmeric Cabbage Stew, which of course I think would be the perfect main course to serve with the Coconut Turmeric Rice.

They will not only compliment each other, but the rice is the perfect thing to soak up any extra sauce from the stew. And every stew needs something to soak up the sauce!

I can’t bear to have sauce sitting in my plate without a way to eat it. As an adult, I can’t very well be caught licking my plate! 😉

Recipe Tips and Substitutions

I love Basmati rice, but of course feel free to use any rice you like. (Cooking times will vary, depending on the variety you use.)
Can you use turmeric powder instead of fresh grated turmeric? You can substitute turmeric powder for the fresh turmeric if you’d like. Use about 2 teaspoons of the powder if you’re substituting.
It’s delicious to add fresh cilantro, basil or dill to this recipe if you want to change it up a bit.

Recipes using fresh turmeric can change from a humdrum dish to one that exciting and beautiful.

More to serve with Turmeric Coconut Rice:

Enjoy every last grain of this delicious dish — whatever you decide to serve it with.

Turmeric Coconut Rice

Name: Turmeric Coconut Rice
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 cup yellow onion, (finely chopped ); 1 tablespoon garlic, (minced); 2 tablespoons jalapeño pepper, (seeds removed, minced (see notes)); 2 tablespoons fresh turmeric, finely grated (click here for How to Use Fresh Turmeric) (-see notes); 1½ cups Basmati rice; ¾ teaspoon salt; 3 cups coconut water

Valentina K. Wein

Turmeric Coconut Rice is a lovely side dish that will brighten any plate with its gorgeous, bright golden-yellow color. Recipes using fresh turmeric are aromatic, earthy, and have subtle notes of citrus and ginger.

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian

Servings to 6

Calories 254 kcal

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
2 tablespoons jalapeño pepper, seeds removed, minced (see notes)
2 tablespoons fresh turmeric, finely grated (click here for How to Use Fresh Turmeric) -see notes
1½ cups Basmati rice
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups coconut water

Instructions

Cook the onion, garlic and pepper. Coat the bottom of a medium-sized soup pot with the olive oil and place it over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and jalapeño and cook until the onions are translucent and soft, about 7 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Mix in the turmeric, rice and salt. Stir to be sure all of the grains of rice are coated with the other ingredients. Add the coconut water, and bring to a boil.
Simmer to finish cooking and serve. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pot, and cook until all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Serve.

Notes

Taste a bit of the jalapeño before you use it -- some are hotter than others. You can use as much or as little as you'd like, depending on the amount of heat you like.

If fresh turmeric isn't available to you, you can replace it with 2 teaspoons of dry ground turmeric.

Calorie count is only an estimate.

Keywords unique vegan sides, great side dishes for meats and stews

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