My earliest memories with ghee are as a child when my father used to make  me sit on the floor and feed us dal-chawal (lentil rice) with a generous tadka of ghee. Till date when I go back to my mother's home in Delhi, she boils a fresh jar of clarified butter for me to enjoy with all my meals, including sambar and rasam rice, rajma and yummy phulkas.

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I won't lie, I also slowly transformed my food habits to have less wheat, sugar and milk (which I honestly always hated), but you will never find a big jar of ghee missing in my kitchen. I don't know my meals without it! It is so important for me to add a spoon of it to my rice everyday to give it that yummy flavour.

Let's leave alone the benefits of the super yummy food for now and just focus on its convenience. Pancakes, dosas, idlis and bread toast are some of the usual breakfast items churned out by me for my 5-year-old son. For something as basic as bread, I find it so much simpler to spread clarified butter instead of refrigerated table butter on these items. Since I cook with very little oil, I often replace it with ghee for that extra flavour.

Snacks made with ghee have their own charm but mind you, look out for ghee and not vanaspati or margarine!  Most bakeries selling the traditional nankhatais (shortbread cookies) make the product in partially or fully hydrogenated vegetable oil, often used as a much cheaper substitute for ghee. Try replacing the oil or butter used in the cakes or cookies you bake with the same amount of ghee and enjoy the extra richness that you will achieve in the taste.

I would also like to mention our traditional sweets like malpua, mysore pak, gujias and others made with pure ghee.  I have even tried making the good old kharis (puff biscuits) with this ingredient instead of the usually used margarine and I promise you, the result was awesome. 

While many people run away from clarified butter, experts believe that when it is consumed in moderation, it can help in the absorption of some essential vitamins and minerals. Known to be rich in Vitamin E which reportedly has significant antioxidants, ghee is linked to lowering risks related to cancer and arthritis. Let's not ignore the topical benefits of this awesome food. Ever tried using it on your chapped lips or mouth blister? It works its magic in just two days, subject to you not eating it instead of letting it be where it has to! :)

Head to www.snaximum.com to savour some unadulterated pure ghee nankhatais!