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The very first solid food that my mother gave me when I was a baby in our southern Indian family was pureed rice mixed with a little ghee. This paved the way for my love life with this clarified butter, rich in walnuts.
In recent years, ghee has become a global phenomenon, considered a "super food" and appreciated by followers of the popular Keto diet. But his story – real and legendary – is long.
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Ghee is native to India, where the heat does not allow to store the butter for long periods. But when the butter is clarified – heated until the water evaporates and the milk solids separate – its shelf life is prolonged.
For millennia, ghee has figured in Indian recipes, and even in Hindu mythology, which attributes its origins to the divine. The story tells that Prajapati, the lord of the creatures, rubbed his hands to create the first ghee, which he then threw in flames to create his offspring. As a result, Hindus still today pour ghee into sacred fires, a practice known to be conducive to weddings, funerals and other ceremonies.
It has also been widely consumed as part of a balanced diet. Ancient Sanskrit literature describes ghee as being worthy of the gods. Foods cooked with ghee are considered superior; Vedic cuisine divides all foods into kacha khana (uncooked food in ghee) and pucca khana (food cooked in ghee). Modern Indian cuisine is no different, but it is practiced at religious ceremonies and at festivals such as the Hindu festival Navratri.
Ghee has also been revered throughout the ages for its medicinal properties. Ayurvedic medicine prescribes it as a refreshing food (it lowers the temperature of the body), as a digestion aid and even as a solution to relieve burns.
In Historical dictionary of Indian cuisine, K.T. Achaya writes that ghee "strengthens, aids digestion, and acts fairly powerfully on the mind, improving memory and intellect." This is not everything. Ghee is also rich in butyrate, which reduces inflammation in the body, and is rich in vitamin A. It is perfect for people who are lactose intolerant because there is virtually no lactose or casein left after clarification. .
The days when it was believed that ghee clogged the arteries are gone, as well as unhealthy trans fats that have tried – and failed – to replace them.
The United States has a funny story with ghee. In the 1950s, after discovering that US dairy farmers had more than 260 million pounds (118,000 tonnes) of surplus butter, the government had a new idea: converting butter into ghee and unloading it on the subcontinent Indian, where millions of stuff.
The government took this perspective so seriously that dairy expert Louis H. Burgwald was sent to India, where he peddled American ghee conscientiously and forced merchants to taste his products. The first lesson he's learned is that tastes for ghee vary from one sub-continent to another. The favorite ghee in the south and west (made from cow's milk) varied enormously compared to the favorite ghee in the north and east (made from buffalo milk).
However, Burgwald was enthusiastic and reported to his chefs that if regional tastes could be satisfied, the Indian subcontinent was ripe for picking. Finally, nothing came from the company.
Clarified butter is probably clarified butter, but it is also something more, in the same way that wine is more than the juice of a squeezed grape. Ghee is like a genius born to a dull parent
R.K. Narayan, Indian culinary writer, The New York Times (1955)
In an article from 1955 the New York Times title Ghee is for goodveteran writer R.K. Narayan had become lyrical about his abundant delights. "The ghee is, without a doubt, clarified butter," writes Narayan, "but it's also something more, in the same way that wine is more than the juice of a squeezed grape. Ghee is like a genius born from a boring parent. "
He calls the invention of ghee the greatest success of the subcontinent.
Today, ghee is widely available online and in stores. Without the dry matter of butter, it can be used for frying and other high temperature cooking. Use the ghee as any fat: roast the vegetables, apply it on the meat to baste, fry the eggs. You can even mix it in your coffee shop (for this trendy "bulletproof" approach) or in your morning porridge (which I like to do).
Refrigerate your ghee if you wish, but it is not a requirement and will stay at room temperature; it will solidify in the refrigerator but will melt at room temperature or when it will be heated.
To create your own, like at home, here's how to get pure ghee, slightly golden and golden:
Heat 500 grams of unsalted organic butter (preferably milk-based grbad-fed cows) in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat without stirring. Be patient. Finally, the butter will start to simmer and produce a slight crunch.
After about 20 minutes, the crunch will stop and there will be a thin layer of grease on top and heavier solids at the bottom of the pan. Watch the ghee very carefully to make sure it does not burn. The butter should be light golden with very little air bubbles on the surface. At this point, the ghee is finished and you can throw in a handful of fresh curry leaves, if you wish.
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Turn off the heat and let stand for an hour, then carefully pbad into a clean, dry and airtight container. The bottom sediments can be discarded, but the top foam is OK.
Keep them away from light and heat for three months, or refrigerated for up to a year – though, from my experience, the ghee never lasts that long!
Cauliflower cooked with ghee (gobi musallam)
Portions: two to four
In this dish from northern India, cauliflower receives layers of flavor in the form of pasta, steam and heat from a hot oven – and it does not take long.
Both pasta can be prepared one day in advance and refrigerated.
Adapted from a recipe by Padmasree Vardaraj from Chennai, India.
For cauliflower
1 medium-headed cauliflower, leaves removed
3 chopped cloves of garlic
2 small green peppers, hulled, coarsely chopped
1 piece of fresh ginger root, peeled, 10-12.5 cm, chopped (3 to 4 tablespoons)
1 C. Chilli powder
½ teaspoon of garam masala (spice mix)
¾ c. Salt tea
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
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For the masala:
1 piece of fresh ginger root peeled, 10 cm to 12.5 cm, chopped (3 to 4 tablespoons)
4 tablespoons coriander seeds
6 whole cloves
8 whole black peppercorns
½ teaspoon of cumin
4 cloves of cardamom
3 tablespoons whole almonds
A stick of cinnamon of 2,5 cm
25g freshly grated coconut (unsweetened)
120 g of ghee bought in store or homemade, at room temperature, divided
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
½ a big onion, chopped
¾ c. Salt tea
Natural yogurt 60g
90g chopped tomatoes
1. Rinse the cauliflower and dry it. Fill a pan with water to a depth of about 6 cm, then place a basket / steam insert indoors, making sure that the water level remains below the vaporizer.
2. Combine garlic, chillies, ginger, chilli powder and garam masala in a mini food processor or use a mortar and pestle to form a coarse paste. Add salt and lemon juice, stirring or stirring.
3. Rub the dough on the cauliflower, leaving some of it between the florets. Place the coated cauliflower in the basket, then cover with the lid and let steam for three minutes, or until the vegetable is tender enough so that it is pierced with the tip of the dough. A sharp knife. Remove from fire.
4. For masala: mix ginger, coriander seed, cloves, black peppercorns, caraway, cardamom, almonds, cinnamon and coconut in a spice mill or mini food processor, then grind to obtain a coarse paste.
5. Heat half of the ghee in a baking pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook about eight minutes, until they have softened. Stir in masala paste and salt, then yogurt, adding one tablespoon at a time and stirring well to incorporate.
6. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for seven to ten minutes, stirring occasionally, until they break down. It's your masala paste, which will lose some moisture once cooked – that's fine. Remove from heat and transfer the dough to a bowl to cool for a few minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (392 degrees Fahrenheit).
8. Coat the cauliflower with half of the masala. Place the cauliflower in the pan. Sprinkle the vegetable with the remaining softened ghee and roast on the top rack for 15 minutes, during which time the masala dough darkens and the cauliflower remains tender. Remove the pan from the oven and spread the rest of the masala paste over the cauliflower. Return to oven and cook for another five minutes.
9. Transfer to a dish with the masala paste that may be in the pan. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve hot with steamed rice / Indian bread.
Ghee cookies
servings: 20
These are sweet and delicate cookies, similar to the meltaway kind of icing sugar.
Cookies are best savored in a day or two; store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Adapted from a recipe obtained by Padmasree Vardaraj, of Chennai, India.
120 g of ghee bought in store or homemade at room temperature
1 C. Vanilla extract tea
125g plain flour (all purpose)
60 g icing sugar
¼ c. Salt tea
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper or a silicone liner.
2. Mix the ghee and vanilla extract in a bowl until everything is well mixed, then add the flour, icing sugar and salt while stirring to form a soft dough. Divide into 20 equal portions, rolling each of them into a ball and placing it on the baking sheet as you work. Space the balls at least 2.5 cm.
3. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until the mixture is cooked, leaving no signs of browning. The color of the biscuits will be pale.
Cool completely on the dish before serving or storing.
Awanthi Vardaraj is Associate Editor in Asiaville and lives in Chennai, India.
The Washington Post
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