Golden Milk

One of my favorite times of the day is in the evening after dinner. My husband and I sit down on the couch and watch a movie or our favorite TV shows. During this ritual, I always make a little snack to munch on. In the winter, we usually crave a nice hot beverage as well. Although hot chocolate and eggnog are pretty standard hot beverages this time of the year, lately we’ve been on a golden milk kick on these cold winter evenings.

The key ingredient in golden milk is turmeric. If you’ve been reading my column for a while, you’ve probably noticed that I use turmeric in many of my dishes. Turmeric is a very common spice in South Asian and South East Asian cuisine as it is a native plant in the region. Turmeric was first used as dye because of its glorious golden color, and it later became a major part of Indian and Chinese medicine. Turmeric can help with digestion and as an anti-inflammatory agent. It can reportedly boost your immune system, too. 
And while turmeric most often appears in savory dishes such as curries, it’s also found in many desserts. It has a very unique fragrance, and I often add a little to my rice or even oatmeal as it gives the food an extra layer of flavor.
With Christmas coming up this week, I figured I’d share this delicious, spicy hot drink with you as a great alternative to hot chocolate or eggnog on Christmas eve if you’d like to try something new.

Ingredients:

Makes two servings

1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk

1 cup whole milk or non-dairy milk of your choice

3 slices fresh ginger

2 tsp. turmeric powder

¹⁄₄ tsp. ground ginger

¹⁄₄ tsp. ground cinnamon 

¹⁄₄ tsp. ground cardamom

1 Tbsp. raw honey, or to taste

Direction:

In a saucepan on medium high heat, bring 1 cup of coconut milk to a boil along with three slices of ginger. I highly recommend using the canned full-fat coconut milk because it will give you a much creamier and coco-nutty flavor. I’ve also found that sometimes the low-fat coconut milk can give the food an almost tart or even bitter taste.

Bring the heat down to medium low and add in the turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon and ground ginger powder. Whisk until combined and let it simmer on the stove for three minutes for all the flavors to infuse and spices to be cooked. Raw turmeric has a tendency to taste bitter, so you really want to make sure the spices are fully cooked. In the past, I’ve used the fresh or whole ingredients for this drink, but I figured probably not everyone has cardamom pods and cinnamon sticks handy. 

After the coconut milk has been simmered for three minutes, add in the cup of whole milk or non-dairy milk. This will balance out the coconut milk so the coconut flavor won’t overpower the spices. Let it come back to a simmer, then remove from the heat and remove the sliced ginger.

In the mug, stir in the golden milk with 1¹⁄₂ teaspoons raw honey per serving or any sweetener of your choice.

To finish it off, I like to sprinkle a pinch of cardamom or cinnamon on top.  Serve it with your favorite holiday treats, and it will be sure to make your Christmas eve warm and festive!