Ghee is a traditional food product that has been used for thousands of years in Indian food preparation and is one of the main ingredients for nourishing women's health and hormones in traditional ayurvedic medicine.
In France and commercial cookery kitchens it is often referred to as clarified butter. As you can see from this photograph above the milk protein starts to bubble up and then separates creating a golden amber liquid which is your ghee. When cooking for our clients and catering we love to use ghee, it is particularly helpful with fertility and conception as part of a natural food diet and I consumed quiet a bit a while on a pre-conception nutritional eating plan and am sure it helped with conceiving my little bub.
If you fancy you can add cinnamon sticks, garlic, a red chilli, and ginger while the cooking process is happening to add some heat and fire to your ghee. In Ethiopia they add these spices to there ghee which enhances flavour and is truly delicious. I keep my ghee at room temperature in a stainless steel container I purchased from a Fijian supermarket in Newtown which is a special ghee container with a little spoon. When making a new batch I usually do 2-3 sticks or organic butter so that it lasts longer.
Start experimenting and adding it to your daily cooking methods. Ghee enhances the flavour of the ingredients and acts as an efficient vehicle for transporting minerals and vitamins to your body. It is rich is essential fatty acids and also good for brain health.
Recipe
2-3 sticks top quality organic butter (makes a big difference in the quality of ghee)
1 saucepan
Spices if you wish - cinnamon, fresh ginger, cardamon pods, garlic, red chilli (just strain at end)
In a medium saucepan add the butter and turn heat up until the butter starts to lightly bubble, then turn heat down to a simmer so that the butter is bubbling and you can see the separation starting to happen, cook for around 15-20 minutes when you see the milk protein floating on the bottom of the pan and the white foam is separating on top.
When cooled strain with a fine mesh strainer and you can keep the crunchy proteins if you wish and eat on toast (a tip from an ayurvedic chef) or throw them away. Use ghee in replacement of butter when sauteing or oil and notice the difference in flavour, taste and texture of foods.
It is super yummy in curries and also scrambled eggs and omelette's!
