How to Make Dried Turmeric Powder

Chef David Thompson showed me how easy it is to make ground dried turmeric (powdered turmeric) at home.

Of course you can buy it but, as David says, “the perfume and taste of homemade dried turmeric powder are alluring and infinitely better than a store bought one.”

In Thailand David dries turmeric in the open air, as he does prawns. I suggest drying it in the oven while you’re making dried prawns and other dried rhizomes, such as ginger and galangal.

It generally only takes a couple of hours depending on the oven temperature and the moisture level of the fresh turmeric.

It’s best to store the whole dried pieces of turmeric in the fridge and grind just enough for each recipe as you need it because, as David says, “the allure of the ground spice lingers only for a few days”.

Turmeric yields about 80% peeled weight and 22% dried weight, so 20g whole turmeric yields about 4.5g ground turmeric.

You’ll need:

paring knife
sharp chef’s knife
wire rack (or oven tray)
an oven
spice grinder

Here’s how to make dried turmeric powder (scroll down for a step-by-step video with David Thompson):

Turn the oven onto its lowest setting (ideally about 60°C fan-forced).
Use a paring knife to gently scrape off the turmeric skin.
Thinly slice the turmeric and place slices on a wire rack or tray in a single layer.
Place in the oven for about 2–3 hours, until completely dry and brittle.
Refrigerate in an airtight container and grind as needed, no more than a day in advance.

Now you know how to make dried turmeric powder you can use it in dhal, masala nuts, rasam, lemon & ginger rice, kashke bademjan (Persian eggplant dip), Persian fish with barberry sauce, tuna biryani, char-grilled five spice prawns, aromatic Thai tuna skewers and Thai green curry of vegetables.