Ghritam or Ayurvedic Ghee or Clarified Butter of Ayurveda Diet and Cooking
Ayurveda Ghee or clarified butter is a form of
natural fat that is used a lot in Indian ayurvedic diet and cooking by every
family and in ayurvedic herbal remedies. This form of natural and fresh fat is
not popular in western world. All types of clarified butter are derived from
milk.
Ayurveda Cooking 1st Step - Get White, Fresh And Natural Butter From Milk:
First take milk.
It could be cow milk, buffalo, goat, sheep, and elephant, horse, camel or human
milk. But in ayurvedic medicine, whenever there is use of the word milk, it is
always cow milk. And when clarified butter is mentioned, it is by
default for ghee derived from cow milk.
The next step is
to boil milk and prepare curd from it by adding a little curd as a ferment.
Within a few hours, we will get the milk converted to curd by natural
fermentation process.
Now, curd is
churned manually with wooden or plastic churner or in a electric one. White
butter floats at the top of butter milk or whey. This butter is all
natural and is very different from the butter that you buy in food
stores. Processed butter from market possesses yellowish color
and salts and preservatives are added to it to prevent it from being spoiled.
This white butter
is collected in a vessel and you can use buttermilk or whey in
your food just like you use curd or milk.
How Long Does White Natural And Fresh Butter Remain Good?
White butter
remains in good condition for 2-3 days during summer season without
refrigeration. And if it is refrigerated, it can be used after 7 days for
getting ghee.
White butter would
be in good condition for 7 days during winter season without refrigeration.
Spoilt white
butter exhibits following properties - acidic smell, bad taste. So it should
not be consumed as such with food but we can still get pure ghee from it.
Still, refrigerate fresh white butter if you intend to collect it during a week
and then proceed it to get clarified butter in weekend.
Ayurveda Cooking 2nd Step - Prepare Ayurveda Ghee From White Butter:
You can take
either fresh white butter daily or use the already stored white butter (stored
white butter from previous 3-7 days). Take white butter in an iron or aluminium
pan. In India, people use an iron pan, 'Kadahi'. You can simply use even
nonstick vessels.
Pour fresh or
stored white butter in iron pan and switch on gas burner to medium or
high level. Within minutes, butter will melt and turn into a white thick
liquid. Gradually over a period of 25-30 on high level flame and 60-80 minutes
on medium level flame, the thick liquid will have two separate sections. The
upper part is ayurveda ghee or clarified butter and lower part is to be
discarded.
The color of
ayurveda ghee might vary a little - yellowish with cow butter and white with
buffalo milk. The brownish color is due to prolonged heating. Some people like
a little brown color while others don't like it. You can check it frequently
with a spoon during heating.
Ayurvedic medicine
recommends only slightly brown color. Prolonged heating will make it brown with
a specific 'burnt' odor. So avoid heating for a longer time. Such overheated
ayurveda ghee is used for external use like massage. The sweet and
milk fragrance of adequately heated clarified butter is very charming.
You can then take
the upper ghee in a separate vessel white it is still hot. Discard and throw
away the lower part. You can store ghee at room temperature or in a
refrigerator. Usually clarified butter doesn't get spoiled for months or years
when packed. Naturally it is without any additives or colors or salts.
Clarified butter
is in liquid form during summer but in winter season or cold places it turns
into granular semisolid or solid form. But it always melts at body temperature.
You can take a little of solid ghee on your palm and it melts easily.
The Uses Of Ayurveda Ghee Or Clarified Butter:
You can use
clarified butter in same way as you use vegetable oils or refined oils or
butter. Indians fry curries, vegetables, beans, nuts and meat with clarified
butter. 'Chapatis' or Indian breads are anointed with clarified butter on one
side. People add clarified butter to different recipes or curries or soups just
before serving.
The cow ghee is
used in ayurvedic medicine whenever there is mention of the word 'ghee'.
Several 'Ghritam' or ayurvedic medicated ghee are used for external and
internal use.
External use of
medicated ayurvedic ghee includes dressing, ointment and enema. Internal use
includes medicinal use in little quantities and the use of larger quantity in
ayurvedic panchakarma therapeutic procedures.
Buttermilk Or Takra Or Mattha And Raita:
Buttermilk is also
very nutritious and without fat. So persons who are suffering from
cardiac disorders, hypertension, overweight, high cholesterol levels can enjoy
a glass of buttermilk. Buttermilk is commonly known as 'Mattha' and the
Sanskrit and ayurvedic term for it is 'Takram' or 'Takra'.
Most of Indian
rural families consume buttermilk or whey in their breakfast and lunch. The
word 'Raita' stands for several delicious recipes that are
prepared with buttermilk by adding salt, vegetables and spices. Raita is
consumed with meals popularly.
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