I've tried to make kumkum myself - with disappointing results.
I gathered from this site How to make real natural Sindoor/kumkum - Kali Ma - tribe.net that all one needed to do was to mix turmeric, calcium hydroxide, and water into a paste. I did that, set it aside for roughly 12 hours, and no dice. The paste was a dull rust color, not much different from the original color of the turmeric.
Then I read this post http://www.indiadivine.org/audarya/hinduism-forum/215178-kumkum-recipe.html
here on India Divine, that heat is needed for the brilliant red color. I tried microwaving my paste and cooking it on the stove, but still no luck. My paste is still a dull, rusty orange.
Does the turmeric paste need to be set aside for a certain length of time or heated to a certain heat for a certain time? Anything that you all can tell me would be much appreciated!!
