Plain rice is a great side for sauces, stews, and soup but turmeric rice is also a great alternative. This rice is a fragrant combination of freshly grated turmeric, sliced garlic, sliced onions, salt, and a bit of vegetable oil. The resulting yellow rice is vibrant, delicious and smells inviting.

Other delicious rice-based dishes to try are waakye, this fried rice with pork, or this other very vibrant pink rice recipe.
Sauces and stews that go well with this turmeric rice are this chicken cashew stir-fry, black-eyed peas stew, pork with vegetables or this waakye stew. If you are a soup and rice kind of person, groundnut soup is your go-to soup to try.
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Ingredients for Turmeric Rice
The ingredients for this turmeric rice with onions and garlic are fairly basic. Some freshly grated turmeric, sliced onions, sliced garlic, and rice is all that are needed to make this simple and yet flavourful rice dish.

Instructions
Turmeric rice comes together really quickly and if you have a rice cooker then this is even quicker. The first step is to fry the onions and garlic in some vegetable oil.

Next, add the turmeric and watch the beautiful yellow colour come through and stain the garlic and onions.

Add the rice (that has been rinsed several times) to the pan and stir well.

Transfer the rice into a rice cooker and add some salt to the rice, adding water as you usually would. If you don't have a rice cooker then transfer it into a pot and cook this the same way you would usually cook rice.

Substitutions
- Turmeric powder - in the absence of fresh turmeric, you can use turmeric powder.
Variations
- Herbs - you can add herbs of your choice to this turmeric rice to make this look and taste even better. Parsley, coriander or any other other herbs that you love will be a great additon. Do add the herbs, when the rice is cooked so that they stay fresh.
Storage
Rice tastes best freshly cooked. However, if you have any leftover turmeric rice you can freeze it.
Tip
- You can then heat leftover frozen turmeric rice in a microwave or a pot with some water sprinkled over the rice. When heating leftover rice in a pot, do so over low heat. If possible, let the rice thaw before heating and avoid stirring the rice unnecessarily or excessively. Over stirring may break up the grains of rice.
- You can use turmeric powder to make this recipe as well however, if you have fresh turmeric then I would go for that. The only downside is that when you are grating turmeric, you can stain your fingers. You can use gloves if this bothers you.

Turmeric Rice with Garlic and Onions
Ingredients
- 500 grams rice
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 small onion sliced
- 1 teaspoon fresh turmeric grated
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a pan, fry onions and garlic in vegetable oil for about 2 minutes.
- Add grated turmeric and stir.
- Rinse rice several times until the water runs clear and then add to the pan.
- Stir for a few minutes and then transfer into a rice cooker.
- Add water, salt, and cook rice as you usually would.
- Serve hot or warm.
Video
Notes
- A no-fail method for cooking rice is to use 1 cup of rice to 1 ½ cups of water. If you double the rice, always just add half a cup of water. For example 2 cups of rice to 2 ½ cups of water.
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