Lemon Rice

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Ironically, the citrus used in Lemon Rice is actually lime! Other star ingredients in this staple rice dish are fresh Serrano chilis, which provides kick, Black Gram Lentils, which, after being toasted,  adds crunch, and the very visually evident turmeric. Although turmeric is used in most Indian dishes, it is worth featuring in Lemon Rice due to lending the dish its signature rich yellow color.

Turmeric is made by boiling the root, or rhizome, of the plant Curcuma longa in water, to set the colored pigment in the root, as well as cook the starch, before drying it in the sun then grinding it into the yellow powder we are all used to seeing. Turmeric adds a dry, earthy and pungent flavor to dishes. It is often used in the blend of common spices -- including Cumin, Coriander, Mustard Seed and Hing -- that sustain many an Indian dish.

Apart from its role in adding color and flavor to Indian cooking, the Turmeric craze has been sweeping the world lately. It's health benefits are undeniable. Curcumin, the pigment responsible for Turmerics yellow color, has been shown to reduce inflammation, help manage pain and help control the symptoms of metabolic syndrome. Apart from being a health star, Curcumin is also a natural PH indicator.

Curcumin contains two ketone groups -- functional groups that determine the structure and function of organic carbon-based molecules -- that can switch from a keto state to an enol state based on the PH of the solution it is placed in. In low PH's, acidic solutions, it remains in its keto state, meaning that it contains double bonds, but they do not alternate throughout the length of the whole ketone functional group. Therefore the chain of double bonds in the keto state is shorter. In high PH's, however, the chain of double bonds continues throughout the entirety of the molecular structure. These chains of double bonds, both short and long, make up light absorbing portions of molecules called chromophores. Short chromophores, such as those found in the keto state, favor yellow light frequencies, and so at low PH's (acidic solutions) turmeric solutions will develop a yellow color. Long chromophores, on the other hand, favor red light frequencies, and therefore in more basic solutions turmeric will develop a red color.

Although this knowledge has little to do with the flavor Turmeric imparts when used in cooking, I thought it worth writing about because of the way it ties into the non-food based aspects of culture. In India, by the tenets of Hinduism, women and men will often wear a forehead marking called kumkum. Kumkum is made from combining turmeric, high PH ingredients, one recipe calls for turmeric and borax, and other elements. People have been performing this chemistry for hundreds of years!

That was a bit of a pigment tangent but flavor-wise Turmeric gets its signature from mildly aromatic terpenes (see Kesari Pisa) found in its volatile oil component.

Now on to the recipe!


References:

Hewlings, Susan J., and Douglas S. Kalman. "Curcumin: A Review of Its' Effects on Human Health." NCBI. Last modified October 22, 2017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664031/.
Turmeric

Sampath, Pavitra. "How to make kumkum or sindoor at home." The Health Line. Last modified August 12, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2019. https://www.thehealthsite.com/beauty/how-to-make-kumkum-at-home-p815-318310/.
Turmeric

Summers, Vincent. "Using Flowers Such as Roses and Spices Such as Turmeric as Chemical Indicators." Decoded Science. Last modified June 15, 2015. Accessed May 30, 2019. https://www.decodedscience.org/using-flowers-roses-spices-turmeric-chemical-indicators/54607.
Turmeric

McGee, Harold. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen. New York, NY: Scribner, 1984.
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