Turmeric Rice with Coconut Kale

For many years, I avoided turmeric. There was an accident in one of our early rental houses that left a counter completely stained thanks to a turmeric spill. From that day, I was a bit frightened to use it. I didn’t want to do any more damage. Of course, times change and it’s become a staple ingredient for me. It’s in all my curries, grain bakes, and especially this turmeric rice. Turmeric has a unique flavor and can add such a color to dishes (as probably evident in the rice above.) If you’ve never tried turmeric as a main ingredient, I recommend starting off with 1/2 teaspoon and increasing as desired. For these particular photos, I added upwards of two teaspoons.

Coconut Kale with Turmeric Rice

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Serves: 2 servings

Turmeric Rice

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ¼ cup minced yellow onion
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 cup short grain brown rice
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1½ cups vegetable broth
• ¼ teaspoon salt, if needed
• 
  

Kale

• 1 bunch lacinato kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ cup vegetable broth
• ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk
• Salt
• Toasted Cashews, for topping
• Toasted Coconut Flakes, for topping

1. Heat a medium pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the onions are translucent and fragrant. Stir in the ginger, cooking for one minute. Next, add in the rice and turmeric, toasting for one more minute. Measure in the vegetable broth and bring mixture to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 35 to 40 minutes, until the majority of liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
2. Prepare the kale by removing the stems and cutting the leaves into ¼" strips. Towards the end of the rice being ready, heat the tablespoon of olive in a large, wide pot. Add in the garlic, cooking for roughly a minute. Add the chopped kale and stir to coat with the garlic. Add in the vegetable broth, cover, and let kale cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add in the coconut milk and continue to cook greens until tender, roughly another 3 to 5 minutes more. Taste and add salt as needed.
4. Serve greens over a heft scoop of turmeric rice and top with toasted cashews and coconut.

 

Variations for the turmeric rice

I think what I love most about this meal is that the variations are endless while the flavor profiles stay the same. You could mix up the greens, change out the grain, add protein- completely change the meal all while keeping the coconut/turmeric flavors.
Add Protein: My favorite thing to do is toss in chickpeas with the kale but other legumes would work, or tofu.
Greens: Chard and Collards are the best greens to replace the kale as they stand up to the heat just as well.
Rice: I love brown rice but I know that it takes a bit of time to cook. Turmeric works beautifully with millet and cuts the cooking time in half.

Featured Ingredient: Kale

Of all the greens, I use kale the least. I’m not terribly big into eating it raw but I do love kale chips and dishes like this turmeric rice. I find the lacinato kale works best but really any variety could be used.

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