Ghee in Ayurveda: Ghrita, Its Traditional Praise and Everyday Use

Ghee is clarified butter, made by simmering butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids are strained away. In Ayurveda it is called ghrita, and it holds a place of unusual honour. The classical texts and later teachers praise it more warmly than almost any other food, and it appears in Indian kitchens, temples and household rituals alike.

This page explains what tradition says about ghee, how it is used in everyday cooking, and where the praise needs a sober second look. It describes a traditional view. It is not a recommendation to eat more ghee, and it makes no claim that ghee treats any condition.

What ghee is

Ghee starts as butter, usually from cow’s milk, though buffalo-milk ghee is common in many regions. The butter is heated slowly. Water boils off, the milk solids settle and brown, and a clear golden fat remains. Traditional households often make it from cultured butter, so the flavour is nutty and slightly sweet.

Because the milk solids are removed, ghee keeps well at room temperature in a clean, dry jar, and it tolerates higher cooking heat than butter. Those practical qualities partly explain its long history in a warm country without refrigeration.

The classical praise of ghrita

The classical texts, including the Charaka Samhita and the Ashtanga Hridayam, treat ghee as the foremost of the fats. Tradition describes it as sweet in taste, cooling in potency, and soft, smooth and heavy in quality. Teachers say it is the fat most agreeable to pitta, and that it is also thought gentle on vata. Kapha, being heavy and moist already, is traditionally advised to take it sparingly. You can read about these three principles on the pages for vata, pitta and kapha.

The tradition also calls ghee a carrier. Because it is fat-soluble, teachers describe it as a medium that takes on the qualities of whatever is cooked into it while keeping its own. That idea is behind the old practice of preparing herbs in ghee, which belongs to trained practitioners and is not covered here.

Among the traditional uses, ghee is said to support digestion and appetite when taken in modest amounts with food, to nourish the tissues (see dhatus) and to build ojas, the subtle essence of vitality (see ojas). These are statements from the tradition. They are not findings of modern medicine, and this page does not present them as such.

Different schools and teachers vary on details, such as whether old ghee (purana ghrita) is superior to fresh. Many classical teachers prize aged ghee for particular purposes, while ordinary kitchen advice simply says to use fresh, good-smelling ghee.

Ghee in the kitchen

In everyday Indian cooking, ghee is used in several familiar ways.

• Tempering. Whole spices are briefly warmed in hot ghee and poured over dal, a step often called tadka. The spices release their aroma into the fat. See spices in the Ayurvedic kitchen for the usual ones.
• Finishing. A small spoonful is stirred into cooked rice, dal or kitchari at the table.
• Flatbreads. Rotis and parathas are often brushed with a little ghee.
• Sweets. Traditional sweets such as halwa and laddu are built on it.

Ayurvedic teaching favours modest amounts as part of a warm, freshly cooked meal, rather than ghee eaten by the spoon as a supplement. If you are curious about how the tradition describes fats and other foods, the page on the qualities of foods explains the vocabulary of heavy and light, oily and dry.

Honest notes on fat and health

Ghee is almost entirely fat, and a large share of that fat is saturated. Mainstream nutrition advice is cautious about high intakes of saturated fat, because of its link with raised cholesterol in many people. Tradition praises ghee, but tradition was not measuring blood lipids. Both statements can stand side by side: ghee is a valued food in Ayurveda, and it is also an energy-dense fat that suits some people better than others.

Please ask your doctor or dietitian before making ghee a regular or generous part of your diet if any of the following applies to you.

• You have heart disease, high cholesterol or high triglycerides, or a strong family history of either.
• You are watching your weight, or have been told to limit fat.
• You have gallbladder disease or have had gallstones, since a fat-heavy meal can bring on discomfort for some people.
• You have a liver condition, or a condition affecting how you digest fat.
• You have diabetes, where overall diet and weight matter.

Claims you may read online, such as ghee being a miracle food or a way to lower cholesterol, are not backed by strong evidence, and this page does not make them.

Milk allergy, lactose and quality

Ghee is made from milk, so it needs care for some people.

• Milk allergy. Traces of milk protein can remain in ghee, and for someone with a true milk allergy that can matter. Avoid it unless an allergy specialist has said otherwise.
• Lactose intolerance. Ghee contains very little lactose, and many people with lactose intolerance tolerate it. Individual reactions vary, so go carefully.
• Vegan diets. Ghee is an animal product. Plant-based substitutes are not ghee and are not described in the texts.

Quality and storage matter too. Choose ghee from a trusted source with a clear ingredient list, keep it covered, and discard it if it smells rancid or shows mould. Home-made ghee should be made with clean utensils and a fully dry jar, since water left in the jar can spoil it. Imported or unlabelled jars of unknown origin deserve more caution than a brand you know.

Medicated ghees

Classical Ayurveda describes many medicated ghees (siddha ghrita), in which herbs are cooked into ghee by a defined method. These are medicines. They are prepared and prescribed by qualified practitioners, and this page gives no recipes or amounts for them. Some imported Ayurvedic preparations have been found to contain lead, mercury or arsenic, so buy from reputable makers only, and tell your doctor about anything you take. Do not make or take a medicated ghee on the strength of a web page or a social media video.

Pregnancy, children and everyday sense

Ordinary amounts of ghee in food are part of many families’ diets, including for children and during pregnancy. Anyone with a medical condition, or anyone pregnant and following specific dietary advice, should follow the guidance of their own doctor. Any decision to eat noticeably more or less of any fat belongs in that conversation.

This page is for education and is not medical advice. Please read our medical disclaimer, speak to a doctor about any health concern, and to a registered Ayurvedic practitioner (BAMS in India) for Ayurvedic care.

Frequently asked questions