A longtime staple as a fabric dye and ingredient in Ayurvedic cooking and medicine (since 500 BC!), turmeric is currently enjoying a huge resurgence in popularity due to its anti-inflammatory and digestive qualities. A rhizome that looks similar to ginger root when pulled out of the ground, dried and powdered turmeric has stunning marigold color and earthy taste that pairs well with citrus or honey.
About Spicewalla
In 2009, Meherwan Irani quit his day job in sales to open his first restaurant – Chai Pani, a unique Indian street food joint in downtown Asheville. Whether it was a midlife crisis or a stroke of genius is debatable. Since then, the self-taught chef has opened four restaurants, one bar, and now, Spicewalla. With four James Beard Award nominations for Best Chef in the Southeast under his belt, he’s finally confident this might just be working out. His restaurants have been written up in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, GQ, Food & Wine, Saveur, USA Today, and Bon Appétit, among others.