When I was in Bali earlier this year with my girlfriend, we were introduced to this very interesting drink after one of our massage treatments in the north-western part of Bali, in Pemuteran.
You can learn more about this wonderful beverage, the various ingredients used, and its healing properties on Wikipedia.
1. You’ll have two pots on the stove top. Fill your blender with water and pour most of it into pot #1, and a little bit into pot #2.
2. Clean and chop up your turmeric root and ginger root (Fig. 3) and add to pot #1 with the vanilla bean and some freshly ground pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the water is a cloudy yellow color.
4. Strain the tamarind jam into the blender with a wooden spoon. (Fig. 7) This is the hardest part, but well worth the effort.
5. Pour the turmeric liquid into the blender through the same strainer you used for the tamarind. This gives you the opportunity to remove the ginger pieces (too fibrous) and the vanilla bean. If you find you have a lot of liquid in your blender, blend the tamarind jam with the liquid and then pour some off in equal proportions into your waiting mason jars. Now that you have room in your blender, add the cooked turmeric root.
6. Squeeze the lemons through your strainer into the blender.
7. Add the coconut oil, honey, and some more ground pepper. Blend for several minutes until you have a nice looking smoothie.
8. Quickly pour off the blended mixture into your mason jars, then shake vigorously if you had previously poured off liquid in step 5.
9. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week. Drink a few ounces every day.
Fig. 5 – DO NOT USE THIS BRAND! No good.