The Many Uses for Ghee - Use to Soften Skin and for First Aid

Besides the many health benefits of consuming ghee, or clarified butter, there are lots of other uses for ghee.

Ghee is rich in antioxidants and it is known for its healing properties, so why not smooth it onto your skin?  Ghee can soften, strengthen and nourish skin all at once. Here are just a few ways to use ghee:

• Ghee softens skin and you can use it instead of expensive face or body creams. 
• Rub into sore joints to keep them supple.
• Use as a topical treatment for blisters, skin rashes and burns.
• Use Ghee as a  lip balm. Since ghee can be kept at room temperature, you can put it into a small container and carry it with you. 
• Rub ghee into cuticles, nails and hands.
• Use ghee as a massage oil.
• Mix ghee with a few drops of essential oil and use as a bath oil.

As you can see, there are many ways to enjoy the health benefits of ghee besides using it in recipes or on food. Keep a jar of ghee handy on your kitchen and counter and in your beauty and first aid kits.

To purchase Ghee, visit Amazon.com for these and other brands:

Nanak Pure Desi Ghee, Clarified Butter, 28-Ounce Jar
Odell's Chef's Butter, Clarified Butter, 10-Ounce Tubs (Pack of 3)

Ghee Recipes - 1,000 Indian Recipes

Through my love of using ghee in recipes,  I've just discovered Indian Cooking. Indian cooking also uses many spices which contribute to good health, like turmeric and cayenne, which helps protect us from diseases like cancer and arthritis. These spices also help boost the metabolism!

One of the best books of Indian Recipes I've found is 1,000 Indian Recipes and many of their recipes use ghee, or clarified butter. This book is written for the modern American cook who is new to Indian Cuisine, as well as those who are very familiar with Indian cooking.

There are many marsala recipes, as well as hundreds of delicious veggie recipes, such as Bengali Hot Potatoes with Dry-Roasted Spices and Cauliflower Pankora Fritters with cilantro. There is information on Bengali 5-Spices as well.

If you're looking for an Indian Recipes book that is nearly all-inclusive, 1,000 Indian Recipes will add wonderful dimensions to your gourmet kitchen and help your family expand their horizons.


To buy some ghee or Indian Recipe cookbooks, visit our ghee store on Amazon.com

Want to learn more about the Health Benefits of Ghee?

Ghee Recipes - Mysore Pak Recipe Makes Delicious Snack

Since I started using ghee, I've really come to love Indian recipes, which often use this clarified butter. Mysore Pak is a delicious Indian snack using ghee so it's healthier than most snacks and not difficult to prepare.

At the end of this post on Mysore Pak, I've added sources to purchase ingredients like chickpea flour and ghee.

Ingredients for Mysore Pak


1 cup Besan  or chick-pea flour
1 1/2 cup Sugar
2 cups Ghee
1 3/4 cups Water

Directions for Preparing Mysore Pak

Put sugar and water into medium saucepan and stir to dissolve the sugar.

Heat and stir constantly until sugar syrup reaches thread consistency. To check for desired consistency, put a little syrup into a spoon and pour back into the pan. Using your thumb and forefinger, try to pull a thread of syrup out as you pour.

Add the chickpea flour one tbs at a time, blending as you add. Make sure there are no lumps in the flour first.

Reduce the heat on the mixture and add 2 tsp of ghee.

Blend and continue adding chickpea flour until it's all in syrup.

Add ghee 1 tsp at a time and blend until the mysore pak changes color and texture. The texture starts to become porous and cooking away from the sides of the pan. Eventually, it won't absorb any more ghee.

Allow it to cool for 10 minutes and then cut.  Wait another 10 minutes and the squares of mysore pak can be removed and placed on a serving dish.

The ingredients for this Mysore Pak Recipe can be purchased through Amazon.com

Chickpea Flour or Besan Ajika Besan or Chick Pea Flour -1 Lb. Only $4.50 per pound through Amazon.

Ghee - Nanak Pure Desi Ghee, Clarified Butter, 28-Ounce Jar Only $15.38 at Amazon and qualifies for free shipping as well.


You can also purchase Mysore Pak at Amazon ready made. Mysore Pak - 2 lb. Box

More great Indian food snack recipes Street Food of India: The 50 Greatest Indian Snacks - Complete with Recipes

More Indian Recipes in 1,000 Indian Recipes cookbook.

Visit our Ghee Amazon Store for more products and books.

Indian Rice Recipes - Ghee Rice

Ghee or Clarified Butter is becoming more popular as a cooking ingredient because of the many health benefits it offers and also because Indian Recipes are healthy and delicious. This Ghee Rice recipe is an easy dish to make and can be used as a side dish to just about any meal.

There are several variations to ghee rice recipes. Here is one of my favorites:

Ghee Rice Recipe

2 cups Basmati Rice
1/4 cup ghee
2 cups onions, chopped finely
Stick cinnamon - 2 inch piece, broken in half
4 crushed Cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1 and 1/2 tsp salt

Directions for Ghee Rice

Thoroughly wash rice and drain.

In heavy saucepan, heat ghee, add spices and onions and cook until onions are browned at the edges.

Add the rice and sautee for about 2 minutes.

Add 3 1/4 cups boiling water to rice mixture. Bring to a boil again, then reduce heat and steam rice, covered for about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow ghee rice to sit for another 10 minutes, covered.

This ghee rice recipe serves 6.

Variations to this ghee rice recipe including adding chopped veggies just before steaming.

Where to Buy Ghee

You can buy ghee in any Indian Food Store but if you can't find it locally, you can easily order ghee online. I use ghee from Pure Indian Foods, and you can order directly from the company or through Amazon.com. Pure Indian Foods' Grassfed Organic Ghee is fresh and healthy and the company is a pleasure to work with.

Looking for more Indian Rice Recipes? Check out these Indian Recipe cookbooks:

1,000 Indian Recipes

5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices

500 Indian Recipes: Deliciously authentic step-by-step dishes from India and South-East Asia, easy-to-make with over 500 photographs

Spice Up Your Life - Over 60 indian recipes low in points (Weight Watchers Pure Points)

Everyday Indian: 100 Fast, Fresh and Healthy Recipes

Visit our ghee store on Amazon.com for more recipe books and ghee products.

Add ghee rice and Indian recipes to your weekly menus and savor the spicy, delicious flavors. Your family will love them.

Health Benefits of Ghee

The tremendous health benefits of Ghee, or clarified butter, are in the news lately. I switched from all butter or margarine products and now use only ghee. This amber liquid melts in your mouth and can be used for cooking, baking, to drizzle on veggies or spread on toast. Just what is Ghee and what benefit does it give to your health?

Ghee, or clarified butter, is made when the milk solids are separated from the liquid, leaving a pure, clear, amber-colored substance . It has been used for about 2,000 years in Ayurveda or the ancient natural healing system of India. Ghee has about 14 grams of fat per tablespoon.

Health Benefits of Ghee

• Ayurveda maintains that Ghee is a vital food for healthy skin, mental clarity and good digestion. It also helps the body assimilate nutrients.

• Ghee is salt and lactose free so it is beneficial for those who can't drink milk or eat cheese.

• Ghee is said to have anti-cancer and anti-viral properties.

• Contains CLA or conjugated linolenic acid which aids weightloss, especially stubborn belly fat and has been shown to slow the progress of some types of cancer and heart disease.

• We all need healthy fats in our diet and Ghee is an easily digestible source of saturated fat that contains no trans fats or hydrogenated fats. Ghee, however, is low in the essential omega 3 fatty acids you need for good brain health so supplementation with omega 3's is a needed for a healthy diet. 

• Ghee is also very alkaline for your body, which helps to offset the overwhelming acidity of most American diets. Coffee, sugar, alcohol, fast food and processed food are all very acidic, which helps to promote inflammation and diseases such as arthritis and cancer in our bodies. For more information on the acid/alkaline diet, read Donna Gates book, Body Ecology Diet-Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity.

Other Benefits of Ghee

• Making Ghee is a great way to preserve butter, which turns rancid or loses flavor quickly. Ghee won't turn rancid at room temperature like butter and retains it's original flavor and freshness for up to a year without refrigeration.
• Withstands high heat in baking at temperatures above 240 degrees Farenheit and is one of the few unrefined oils that does so.
• Ghee is also delicious. After years of eating fake margarines, which are full of chemicals and preservative, you'll love the taste of ghee on your food.

Ghee is widely available in health food stores but it's easy to make your own. Try this easy to make ghee recipe.

Sold on the health benefits of ghee but don't want to make your own? Visit our Ghee Store on Amazon.com for many brands of ghee, plus several Indian Recipe books, which feature ghee.