Nutrient Dense, Turmeric Spiced Rice

Turmeric and Cumin Spiced Rice

My boys eat a lot.  A lot!  It’s actually quite astonishing the amount of food they can put away.  Since they are all tall and slim, I know they are eating as much as their growing bodies need.  As much as I would like to feed them a grain free diet, they really seem like they need more carbs/starches than is easy to do with going completely grain free. So we eat rice and quite a lot of it.

I was worried they might be eating too much when I consulted my fellow crazy boy mom friend, Lydia from Divine Health From the Inside Out.  She pointed me to some pretty compelling evidence that rice is good and the amount they are eating is well within the fine range.  She directed me to Paul Jaminet who says eating a pound of “safe starch” a day is good, The Perfect Health Diet.  Yes, white rice is a safe starch.

Eek, did I say white rice?!  We don’t do brown rice here for many reason.  First of all, we don’t like it.  Second of all, my husband is allergic to it.  Seriously.  Thirdly, have you ever seen some one from Asia eating brown rice? I doubt it. Fourthly, read this

Still, there’s not much nutrient density going on with plain rice so I make rice this way to improve on that aspect.  Not only does this rice have turmeric, which has so many wonderful health benefits, but it’s also made with bone broth. Bone broth is rich in gelatin and minerals. I consider it a super food and look for ways to sneak it into everything I can. So all together, making rice with stock makes me feel even less bad about letting them eat rice to their hearts’ content.

When I make bone broth, I usually make multiple batches with the same bones.  The first 2 batches contain all the wonderful gelatin.  The 3rd batch contains the minerals.  The first 2 batches are the ones that are full of flavor and are used for drinking or a base for soup.  The 3rd batch, while it still tastes good, doesn’t taste as rich and amazing as the first ones.  This broth is still great for cooking.  It’s also wonderful for making rice.  Just sub stock for water 1:1.  If you don’t have stock on hand (You should!  Why don’t you?!) you can use plain water just fine. You can also use the gelatinous first batches just fine but rice is a good way to use the less flavorful stock.

We serve this rice as a side or under a saucy dish like Murgh Mahkani or Lemon Dhal. With leftovers, we’ll make it into fried rice by just stir frying some eggs with the rice.

Recipe can be scaled up or down easily, just keep 1 part rice to 1.5 parts liquid and adjust spices as needed.

Turmeric and Cumin Spiced Rice


  • 1 tbsp fat (butter, lard, coconut oil, etc)
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seed
  • 1" piece of fresh turmeric or 1/2 tsp dried
  • 3 cups stock (or water)
  • 2 cups rice


  1. In a med. sized saucepan over med. heat, melt fat.
  2. Add cumin when it's sizzling hot.
  3. Add stock and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 20 mins.
  4. Add rice.
  5. Cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 mins.
  6. To make in a pressure cooker or rice cooker, just add all the ingredients and follow devices directions.


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