Ghee(Sanskrit: Go Ghrita) was originally made from the milk of cows and was considered as cows are sacred. It was used in Vedic rites and is essential in any Hindu rite even today.

2. Hot, mashed rice and dal with a dollop of ghee: the formula for weaning toddlers off milk had
the mommies sneaking a mouthful or two. I know I did that.
The smell of ghee slowly melting on steaming khichdi: so tempting that you burnt your mouth
because you couldn’t wait for it to cool down!
Freshly made chutneys and pickles tempered with a spoonful of ghee: sorry, I won’t trade it
for a king’s ransom.
Culinary dreams are made of these and the reigning star is always GHEE.
Ghee: India’s gift to the world

3. Ghee(Sanskrit: Go Ghrita) was originally made from the milk of cows and was considered as
cows are sacred. It was used in Vedic rites and is essential in any Hindu rite even today.
There are some South Asian, Iranian and Arabic cuisines which use ghee.
The rest of the world is only now waking up to the benefits of this much maligned ‘fat’.
Grandma’s recipe
Ghee is NOT clarified butter, though that is what it is called in all recipes meant for an
international audience. Traditionally, cow’s milk is boiled, cooled and cultured by adding a
little curd to it. Once this is set, it is churned till the butter globules rise to the top. (Fresh, soft,
butter is so tempting – not even Lord Krishna could resist it!).

4. The butter is heated in a thick vessel (preferably something non-reactive like stainless steel)
over a fire till the water evaporates and the fat is separated from the milk solids (clarified).
Then it is further simmered and acquires a rich brown colour a nutty taste and a tantalising
aroma. My parsimonious Granny collected the ‘slurry’ that sank to the bottom, the singed
casein from the milk, mixed it with sugar and fed it to us as an exotic sweet. She called it
Godavari – I can’t think why, other than maybe that is what HER Grandma might have done!
The hysteria about fat
The Size Zero fad has not only taken the meat out of beauty, but has led to innumerable
misconceptions and misdirection about diet. Anorexia and bulimia are one side of this
misguided generation while the other equally scary side is the increasingly overweight and
downright obese population that the fast food culture has wrought.

5. Fats are essential for a balanced diet: let there be no mistake about that. They are the most
efficient form of energy with each gram of fat supplying 9 calories: more than twice the
energy supplied by carbohydrates or proteins. Fats facilitate the absorption of Vitamins A, D,
E, and K and help to keep us warm. They are necessary for the formation of spongy tissue
which cushions our joints.
Like everything else, EXCESS fat is a no-no.
Ghee in the ancient science of Ayurveda
This fount of dietary wisdom believes that since cows feed on plants and as ghee is made
from cow milk, it incorporates the best of the nutrition that, both, the plant and animal
kingdoms have to offer. Here’s the ayurvedic opinion:

6. Ghee aids in secretions which dissolve the wastes of body tissues and carry away toxins.
It is a soothing unguent and works wonders when applied on burns, bruises, skin rashes and
bed sores in the elderly or the mobility impaired.
The anti inflammatory and soothing natures have a healing effect on the digestive tract too.
Ghee in your diet is recommended to mitigate peptic ulcers or gastritis.
Warm milk with 2 teaspoons of ghee before bedtime soothes the nerves and gets you ready
for your early morning routine. In the elderly, a teaspoon of ghee followed by a swallow of hot
water is a better purgative than any of the chemical bottled brands.
It increases memory.

7. It soothes tired eyes. Apply some around them.
Ghee and the new age fitness gurus
Do we really need a fitness guru to tell us what generations of Indian Grandmas have always
known? Seems like it.
Nutritionists and dieticians have had something like an Organic Bilona Ghee renaissance in
their thinking: let’s just call it their OBG moment of enlightenment. They now recommend
ghee as the fat buster kind of fat: it contains linoleic acid which fights fat deposits in those
stubborn areas like the belly.
Ghee consumption is necessary for the absorption of fat soluble Vitamins A,D ,E and K.

8. There are scientific studies which rubbish the link between saturated fats like ghee and heart
ailments. In fact, there is a school of thought that pharmaceutical lobbies have been
responsible for this ‘rumour’ in order to peddle their drugs.
Have a long hard think
Obesity in India is a recent phenomenon- especially in children. Lay the blame at the correct
door: fast food, a curriculum which leaves no time for exercise, shrinking space where
schools mean an apartment complex surrounded by a concrete jungle and the tech driven
couch-potato culture. Go through old sepia photographs of India: how many fat people do
you actually see?
Ghee has always been an integral part of the Indian meal and the Indian way of life; obesity
has hit us NOW!

9. Eastward Ho!
We haven’t just borrowed fast food and dietary misconceptions from the West. Those winds
have also blown their chemical concepts our way. All farming in India until the Green
Revolution was organic, whether animal husbandry or crop and vegetable cultivation. Our
rush for food self sufficiency has dumped us into a chemical cesspool of fertilisers,
pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. These harm human health and the environment. Milch
cattle like cows are fed hormones to increase milk production. Their feed consists of fodder
with the residues of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. The organic way of life shuns all
chemical interference and use and aims for a healthier tomorrow. Go organic now!
Busy lifestyles leave you with barely enough time to cook a meal – forget the long process
needed for making ghee. There are many brands of ghee in the market. You can pick one up
but just remember that adulteration of ghee is rampant: partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
like vanaspati are added as they are cheaper and indiscernible at first glance. So take care!

10. Choose a trustworthy brand that is
Organic
Guarantees the product
Is churned or “bilona”
Made from organic cow’s milk .Buffalo milk contains more fat than is needed. Cow milk is
closest to human milk and, therefore, the best.
Do you know that pure or shuddh ghee lasts for more than a 100 years? Ghee, more than a
century old, was kept by temples in vats for their use. It is considered medicinal and an
invaluable legacy.
When you light that lamp with shuddh ghee this Diwali, know that you are ushering in all the
goodness of traditional and ancient Indian wisdom. That is your true Lakshmi, your wealth.