Herbs & foods45 min
Desi ghee: making it at home and enjoying it in the right amount
Ghee is central to Ayurvedic cooking and healing — used for tempering, as a carrier for herbs, for oil massage and for dry skin and lips. Homemade ghee from malai is easy and aromatic. The key is balance: a teaspoon or two a day suits most people, not ladlefuls.
The Ayurvedic view
Ayurveda ranks go-ghrita (cow's ghee) as the finest of all fats: sweet, cooling, nourishing, kindling digestion without aggravating pitta, and supporting memory, voice, eyes and skin. It's also the classic anupana or carrier that helps herbs reach the tissues. Nutritionally, ghee is mostly saturated fat, so the modern advice is moderation — especially for people with heart disease or high cholesterol — while it remains a flavourful, stable fat for high-heat Indian cooking.
Ingredients
- Malai (cream skimmed from boiled milk), collected in the fridge or freezer over 1–2 weeks (about 2 cups)
- 2 tablespoons curd
- Water
How to prepare
- Bring the malai to room temperature, mix in the curd and leave for 6–8 hours to culture.
- Churn with a hand blender or mathani, adding cold water, until butter separates. Collect and rinse the butter.
- Heat the butter in a heavy pan on low flame, stirring now and then, for 15–20 minutes until it turns clear golden and the solids turn light brown. Add a curry leaf or a pinch of salt at the end for aroma, if you like. Cool slightly and strain into a clean, dry glass jar.
How to use
- Use 1–2 teaspoons a day per person: in tadka, drizzled on dal-rice or rotis, or in khichdi.
- Apply a little on dry lips, cracked heels or rough elbows at night.
- Leftover browned solids (ghee residue) can be mixed into atta for rotis or with sugar as a sweet treat.
Helpful habits
- Ghee keeps at room temperature for months if no water gets in — always use a dry spoon.
- Buffalo-milk malai gives more ghee; cow-milk ghee is more yellow and considered lighter in Ayurveda.
Precautions
- People with heart disease, high cholesterol, obesity or fatty liver should keep ghee limited and follow their doctor's advice on fats.
- Ghee is heavy in a cold, congested state or with poor appetite — use less during colds and indigestion.
- Don't put ghee into ears or eyes at home without an Ayurvedic doctor's guidance.
