Ghee is much more than just butter, according to Hinduism, it is a true food of the gods, seen by yoga practitioners as the ideal food to promote both physical and mental purification.
According to the legend in Hindu mythology, the clarified butter was firstly created by Prajápati – the Lord of Creatures, by rubbing his hands together and then pouring the ghee into fire in order to create his offspring. Nowadays, many Hindus still re-enact this gesture as a means of recreating creation. But in reality the sacred butter is, of course, produced by the milk of the most sacred animal in India – the cow.
Ghee is a clarified, unsalted butter which is produced by a process of slow boiling during which most of the milk proteins are removed, which makes it suitable for most lactose-intolerant people.
The texture, colour, and taste of the butter depend on the source of the milk used (according to yogis only milk from grass-fed cows can be the basis of the sacred butter leading to knowledge awakening and enlightenment) in the process and the duration of the boiling and simmering.
The first documented mention of the nutty-tasting butter making was in the sacred songs of the dwellers of Asiatic India, dating back to 1,500-2,000 B.C.
Ghee is a Hindi word (be sure to pronounce the “h”, as it is not silent), and originates from the Sanskrit word pronounced as ghrta, from the root ghr (to sprinkle).
This clarified butter was initially mainly used to fuel lamps, though beyond actually increasing the intensity of the fire, the burning of ghee had a religious meaning as well, symbolising the burning away of physical illness and mental ignorance.
But over time, the pure butter, often referred to as liquid gold, found its way to the plate – loaded with health and culinary benefits.
Ghee has been used for centuries as a digestive aid, physical and sexual energy booster, cholesterol levels’ balancer, heal skin ailment, joint inflammation reducer, and many more and overall is known as a substance that can strengthen the immune system and give vitality and longevity.
The first time, the British audience got to read about the Indian butter, happened in only the mid 1600s, in one of the best records of the 17th century travel, the book of the English traveller and historian Sir Thomas Herbert Some years travels into divers parts of Africa and Asia the great, which among the ghee introduction, also included illustrations of the extinct dodo bird.
The first recipe, coming from a British source, to include ghee, appeared in 1732 and the ghee-bowl was firstly mentioned in only 1835.
