One of my favorite combination is turmeric and ginger as it is a great combination that provides not only therapeutic values and nutrients but also can be used in creating great tasting food and beverages in your daily consumption.  to maximize the bioavailability of the curcumin to our body which is basically to increase the ability of our body to absorp it, I always add black pepper.  Being a person who has her plate full, it was necessary for me to create a way that would enable for me to have this combination readily available and easy to use.  Hence, the development of the Bentong Ginger and Turmeric with Black Pepper powder.

In this form it i s easy to store and transport.  I consume it daily, often in multiple forms.  When developing the product, there were many considerations:

  1. Quality of the ingredients hence the selection of Bentong Ginger instead of normal ginger and opting to grow the turmeric on the farm.  The ginger is sourced from the Orang Asli who grow it in the hills of Bentong.  Growing this particular type of ginger is also dependent on the type of soil which is not the type of soil that we have at the farm.
  2. The best form to make it convenient to use, store and transport so we made it into a powder form.
  3. The manner of processing is also important to ensure minimizing loss of flavor and nutrients, prevent oxidization, prevent environmental contiminants such as dust and droppings from insects, etc.  Thus, we chose to dehydrate using a dehydrator.
  4. The best packaging option for us was using a resealble pack that made it lightweight, easy to transport, lower cost as well as resealable.

How to consume it:

  1. As a warm beverage: Personally, I drink a cup of warm ginger-turmeric drink in the morning as the second drink after drinking water upon waking up.  It is made with 1/4 teaspoon of powder with hot water and when it is warm, I add a bit of honey.  On days when I do a lot of physical activity, i also have it as a bedtime drink.  There have been research that it indicates this will help our body repair itself and as most of the body repair our bodies do is at night, so I like to think that I am boosting my internal body repair with the nutrients from this drink.
  2. As a cold beverage:  Lately, the days have been very hot so I like to have a cold, refreshing drink that I can enjoy thatprovides me with added healthy values.  What I do is to use 1/4 teaspoon of this powder in hot water to encourage thediffusion into the drink followed by some citrus juice and a touch of honey.  My preference is for lime juice as it is readily available and my source of the fruit is from the farm.  As it is grown organically free from pesticides and herbicides, I will also grate some of the green skin into the drink.  I don’t use the white part as that adds a bitter taste to the drink.  You can choose other natural juices to add to it and follow your taste bud.  However, I find the addition of citrus juice is the tastiest option for me.  This will also elevate the nutrient offering within the drink.
  3. As a flavoring to cooked dishes.  You can add it to almost any savoury dish.  I use it to when I am doing soups whether it is for seafood, chicken or beef.  I add about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of the powder depending on the amount of soup I am making.
    I also love fried chicken wings so naturally, I will coat the wings with it with a touch of mountain or sea salt and let it marinate for about 15-30 minutes before frying it.  Sometimes, I will marinate it a day before, leaving it in the fridge if I know the next day I will be busy and need to prepare what I want to cook ahead of time.
    For me, no “ikan goreng” (fried fish) is complete without being seasoned with turmeric so I use this powder for it too.  You might also want to try adding it to your ommelette for that extra “oomph”.
    Let’s not leave out vegetables.  Just add 1/4 teaspoon to any stir-fry or soupy vegetable dish.  For cooked dishes for your breakfast, lunch or dinner, there are so many ways to use  it as a seasoning making it one of the most versatile combinations.
  4. If you think that you can only do savoury dishes, think again.  You can use it to make desserts such as agar-agar.  The recipe is very easy:
    Ingredients

    • One pack of agar-agar.
    • Water
    • !/2 teaspoon of the Bentong Ginger and Turmeric with black pepper powder
    • Sugar – rock sugar or white sugar – in a quantity to your taste.
    • !/2 a lemon or 1/2 a lime or any natural citrus juice of your choice or blended tropical fruit like pineapple.

To prepare: Just follow the instructions of the pack of the agar-agar.  Once the mixture has dissolved, add the sugar and the ginger-turmeric powder.  Once it has boiled, turn off the heat.  Allow it to cool down for about 2-3 minutes and add the citrus juice of your choice or blended fruit.  Allow it to set and refrigerate.  I find it is best to serve it cold.  This is one agar-agar that I am looking forward to have at Iftar during the upcoming Ramadhan with its bright golden yellow colour and tasting light and refreshing as well as easy on the digestion system.

What I have included is just some ideas that you might like to try.  Just be as creative as you want and get a wonderful surprise from the dishes you produce.  Eating and drinking healthy should be easy and tasty so you can seamlessly add it to your daily life.  Having supplements shouldn’t just be through popping pills :).