Oh Ghee Wiz!

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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 couldnt wait for it to cool
down! Freshly made chutneys and pickles tempered
with a spoonful of ghee sorry, I wont trade it
for a kings ransom. Culinary dreams are made of
these and the reigning star is always GHEE. Ghee
Indias gift to the world
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Ghee(Sanskrit Go Ghrita) was originally made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. Grandmas recipe Ghee is NOT clarified
butter, though that is what it is called in all
recipes meant for an international audience.
Traditionally, cows 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!).
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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 cant 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.
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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. Heres the
ayurvedic opinion
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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.
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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 lets 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.
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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!
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Eastward Ho! We havent 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!
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Choose a trustworthy brand that
is Organic Guarantees the product Is churned or
bilona Made from organic cows 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.