Calorie content, composition and useful properties of ghee. To whom is this product contraindicated? Cooking use: cooking, interesting recipes. The Indians consider ghee to be one of the main medicinal products in traditional medicine. They are confident in its healing power and even call it “liquid gold”. In Ayurveda - the ancient Indian science of proper nutrition and lifestyle - the product plays a huge role. For our culture, such an attitude towards oil is paradoxical, and for many it will certainly cause skepticism. However, the catch here is in the different way of eating. To benefit from each product, you need to eat it properly. In Russian culture, it is perfectly normal to combine ghee with animal protein food - meat, poultry, fish, while Indians mainly eat plant foods, in combination with which the maximum benefits of the product are revealed. Note! When choosing between frying in butter or ghee, you should choose the latter, as it has a higher smoke point. This is important, because the higher this indicator, the less the likelihood of fat oxidation when the product is heated, and oxidized fats are extremely harmful to the body.
Contraindications and harm of ghee
As you already understood, there is a fine line between the benefits and harms of ghee. The way it is consumed plays the most important role. The product will perfectly complement a vegetarian dish, but in combination with animal products, one should not expect a beneficial effect on the body.
To avoid harm, observe the correct dosage, which is 8 grams per day (this is about 1 teaspoon). Excessive consumption of ghee can threaten with exacerbation of diseases of the digestive system, especially the liver, gall bladder, and pancreas.
Also, special care should be taken by people with diseases that are characterized by metabolic disorders - diabetes mellitus, gout.
| Healthy | Harmful | Special risk factor |
| Combined with plant foods | Combined with animal food | Diseases of the digestive tract |
| In moderation | When abused | Ailments of the cardiovascular system |
| Disruption of metabolic processes |
Ghee can also harm people with diseases of the cardiovascular system, it is most important for this category of people to observe the daily dosage, since the oil contains cholesterol. If the product is abused, cholesterol will not be able to be fully absorbed and will accumulate, which in the future can lead to blockage of blood vessels and acute cardiac conditions.
Note! If you have certain diseases, especially of the digestive system, before adding ghee to your diet, be sure to check with your doctor if the diet prescribed for you allows it. Be sure to also check the maximum allowable dosage of the product.
How to make ghee at home
Ghee is sold in many supermarkets today, but you can also make it yourself at home.
Modern cooking technology is as follows:
- Melt high-fat butter (at least 80%) over low heat (it should never boil!).
- Simmer it over the fire for about 30-50 minutes, while constantly removing the foam from the surface using a special spoon.
- When the oil is completely clear, it is done.
But our ancestors used a different technology for preparing ghee, it is given in an old culinary work by Elena Molokhovets:
- Place 500 grams of butter in a large saucepan and 1 liter of water.
- Place the pot on the stove and, stirring constantly, until smooth.
- Remove the pan from heat and place in a cool place.
- The oil should separate into a hardened "block" and water, drain the latter.
- Repeat all the above steps until the drained water is crystal clear.
This cooking technology was used in Russia until the end of the 19th century, when ready, the oil was laid out in clay pots, covered with wet gauze, rolled in several layers, and put into the cellar. It could be stored for up to 4 years!
If you want to cook a product by Indian technology and get ghee, then the first recipe should be used, but you need to simmer the oil not for 30-50 minutes, but for 4-5 hours. During this time, a protein precipitate forms at the bottom, which will slowly caramelize, as a result of which the butter will turn out to be amber, very aromatic, and its taste will be slightly nutty.
However, please note that true connoisseurs of Hindu cuisine assure that it will not work to properly prepare ghee at home, no matter how hard you try. It is claimed that only enlightened Tibetan monks own the secrets of its manufacture. In addition, they cook oil in the mountains at an altitude of more than 7000 meters above sea level - at this altitude, the boiling point is much lower, which allows them to get rid of unnecessary impurities, but not kill useful substances. Of course, such ghee cannot be made at home.
Unfortunately, Tibetan monks cook not for sale, but purely for personal use. However, there are cases of sale, but they are rare and we are talking about truly cosmic amounts - about a thousand dollars per 100 grams.
Ghee recipes
Today, the use of ghee in the kitchen in our country is not such a popular practice, but earlier in Russian villages they saved themselves from the lack of refrigerators in this way. In those days, they used it literally everywhere, supplemented porridge with it, cooked vegetable stew on it, added it to baked goods, in general, they used it as often as today we use butter and vegetable oils combined.
So, if you purchased or prepared the "liquid gold" of the Indians, you can easily find its application, but just in case, we will analyze several proven uses in ghee recipes:
- Vegetable stew … Peel and dice potatoes (2 pieces) and pumpkin (400 grams), the latter must also be freed from the seeds. Take a baking dish and generously brush it with ghee (1-2 tablespoons). Remove the frozen vegetable mixture (400 grams) from the freezer - any will work here, but the mixture for lecho will work best. Please note that it does not need to be defrosted beforehand - the ice will turn into water during the baking process and make the dish more juicy. Lay the ingredients in layers - potatoes, pumpkin, frozen vegetables, then repeat all layers again. Season each layer with your favorite spices (fennel, coriander, basil, celery are perfect here) and a few pieces of ghee. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the vegetables until tender, depending on the oven, the procedure can take from 30 to 50 minutes.
- Lean manti … Pour milk (2 tablespoons), lemon juice (1/2 teaspoon), water (1 cup) into a bowl, add soda (1/2 teaspoon) and salt to taste, mix thoroughly. Now begin to gradually introduce flour (600 grams), the dough should turn out to be steep, like on dumplings. Cover the finished dough with a cloth or napkin and leave for half an hour. In the meantime, prepare the filling: cut the pumpkin into small cubes (500 grams) and simmer it in ghee (2 tablespoons) in a skillet. When it becomes soft, add salt and your favorite spices to taste, close the lid and let the filling brew a little. Divide the dough into small pieces, roll each of them, put the filling and wrap - the shape and size of the manti are determined by you. Ready-made manti can be frozen, or you can cook it right away - in general, they are steamed, but you can just boil them. Serve with herbs and sour cream.
- Beef with prunes … Rinse the meat, cut into large cubes. Heat the ghee (3 tablespoons) in a frying pan, add the meat (500 grams), fry over high heat until it "seals" on all sides. Add tomato paste (2 tablespoons), salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat, close the lid and simmer for about an hour. Add prunes (150 grams), halved, grated carrots (2 pieces), finely chopped onions (2 pieces), simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Serve the meat with fresh vegetables and chips.
- Apple pancakes … Bake the apples (400 grams) whole in the oven (temperature 180 degrees, time 40-50 minutes). Rub the finished apples through a sieve to effectively and quickly remove the skins, seeds and partitions. Add flour (200 grams), ghee (50 grams), yeast (10 grams), salt (1/2 teaspoon), sugar (100 grams) to the applesauce. Leave the dough for half an hour for the yeast to come up, and then bake in ghee. Serve warm with powdered sugar and cinnamon.
- Yoghurt cupcake … Beat eggs (2 pieces) with sugar (150 grams), add vanillin (pinch), ghee (150 grams), natural yogurt (100 ml). Mix flour (200 grams) separately with baking powder (1 teaspoon). Slowly add the dry ingredients to the whipped mass - the dough should turn out like thick sour cream. Place a tablespoon of dough in each muffin tin, then a teaspoon of any jam and a tablespoon of dough on top. Bake at 180 degrees for 20-30 minutes.
As you can see, the methods of using ghee are very diverse, it will be appropriate in the preparation of almost any dish, but when choosing a recipe, remember that the most useful properties of the product will be revealed in combination with plant foods.
The following spices enhance the benefits of ghee - ginger, turmeric, cumin and black pepper.
Interesting facts about ghee
Ghee has been known and used since ancient times. There is evidence that it occupied an important place in Indian cooking as early as the second century BC.
In Russia, ghee was also highly respected, and our ancestors prepared it not only from butter, but also from sour cream and cream. True, in the last two cases, the shelf life of the product was significantly shorter.
In Asian countries, ghee, coriander, pepper and others are very fond of ghee with various kinds of spices.
In Ayurveda, the product is recommended not only for consumption, but also for external use during therapeutic massage, preparation of various masks for face, hair and body care.
Careless manufacturers often use rancid butter to make a product, and use unnatural additives to improve the taste and aroma. That is why you need to either buy it from a trusted company or cook it yourself - well, you already know how to make ghee at home.
Hindus claim that the healing properties of Tibetan ghee oil increase over the years. There is information about the existence of a product with a 110-year-old aging, it is already surrounded by many myths and legends, including it is said that it bestows immortality. How to cook ghee - watch the video:
Ghee is a product that shows its beneficial properties only with proper use. It is important to choose the right food combinations and not eat it in very large quantities, and then you can be sure that it will have a comprehensive beneficial effect on the body.
