Ghee-Roasted Vegetables Recipe: A Warm Autumn and Winter Tray Bake

Ghee-roasted vegetables are root vegetables tossed in melted ghee with a few ground spices and roasted until soft inside and golden at the edges. They suit the cooler months, when the kitchen is a welcome place to be, and they are the kind of side dish that makes a bowl of rice and dal feel like a proper meal.

This page gives a simple recipe, how Ayurvedic tradition reads the dish, and honest cautions about fat and dairy. It is food, not treatment, and nothing here claims it heals or prevents anything.

The recipe at a glance

• Time: 15 minutes preparing, 35 to 40 minutes roasting.
• Serves: 3 to 4 as a side dish.
• Equipment: a large roasting tray, baking paper if you like, and a mixing bowl.

Ingredients

• About 4 cups of mixed vegetables in 2 cm pieces (roughly 600 g): carrots, sweet potato, beetroot, pumpkin or squash, parsnip, courgette
• 1 tablespoon of ghee, melted (about 15 g), plus a little extra to finish if you wish
• Half a teaspoon of cumin seeds, or ground cumin (about 1 g)
• Half a teaspoon of ground coriander
• A quarter teaspoon of ground turmeric
• A quarter to half a teaspoon of salt
• A small pinch of black pepper
• Optional: a few curry leaves, a slice of fresh ginger or fresh coriander leaves to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200 C (180 C fan, gas mark 6). If you use a tray that has been warmed in the oven, the vegetables brown more easily.
2. Wash the vegetables, peel the ones with tough skins, and cut them into similar sized pieces about 2 cm across, so that they cook at the same speed. Cut denser vegetables such as carrot and beetroot a little smaller than soft ones such as courgette.
3. Melt the ghee and toss the vegetables with it in a large bowl, along with the spices and salt, until everything is evenly coated.
4. Spread them on the tray in a single layer with a little space between pieces. Crowding makes them steam rather than roast.
5. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, turning once halfway, until tender when pierced with a knife and golden at the edges. Soft vegetables such as courgette can go in for the last 20 minutes.
6. Finish with chopped coriander leaves and, if you like, a few drops of lemon juice or a little more ghee.

Eat them while they are warm. Leftovers keep for up to two days in the fridge in a closed container and can be reheated in a hot oven or a pan.

Choosing vegetables by season

• Autumn and early winter: sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot, beetroot, which are sweet and substantial.
• Late winter: root vegetables and turnips, with a bit more ginger or pepper.
• Warmer months: courgette, bottle gourd, green beans and a lighter hand with the ghee.

The page on seasonal eating explains why teachers adjust food through the year, and hemanta, the early winter season, is the one for which this dish is most often suggested.

The Ayurvedic reading (traditional)

Roasting in ghee draws on two of the tradition’s favourite ideas. The first is that fat makes food smooth and moist, and that cooked vegetables are said to be easier than raw ones for those with a dry, cold or irregular nature. The second is that ghee is described as a carrier that takes on the qualities of the spices cooked into it. These are traditional teachings and not findings of modern nutrition.

The tradition describes sweet root vegetables such as carrot, beetroot, sweet potato and pumpkin as sweet in taste and grounding, and they are the vegetables most often recommended in the page on eating for vata. Ghee is described as the fat most agreeable to pitta as well as being gentle for vata. Cumin, coriander and a little turmeric are the ordinary spices of the Indian kitchen and are described on the page about spices in the Ayurvedic kitchen.

For kapha, which tradition calls heavy and moist already, teachers suggest using much less ghee, roasting a lighter mix of vegetables such as courgette, green beans and cauliflower, and using black pepper and ginger more generously. The main meal at midday is the usual time for it, as set out in meal timing.

Teachers also stress that vegetables should be cooked soft and eaten warm and fresh, which is an idea you can read more about under qualities of foods.

What modern research says

Roasting vegetables with a modest amount of fat is ordinary healthy cooking, and a small amount of fat helps the body absorb some fat-soluble vitamins from vegetables. Ghee is a saturated fat, and public health bodies advise limiting saturated fat for most people. There is no good evidence that dish-specific claims from tradition hold up in trials. Treat the recipe as a tasty way to eat vegetables.

Who should be careful

• Milk allergy. Ghee has most of its milk protein removed, but small traces can remain, and people with a serious cow’s milk allergy should avoid it unless their allergist agrees. Use oil instead.
• Cholesterol, heart disease or fatty liver. Ghee is high in saturated fat. If you have raised cholesterol or heart disease, ask your doctor how much suits you, and use the smallest amount that gives flavour.
• Gallbladder disease or pancreatitis. Fatty food can bring on symptoms. Ask your doctor.
• Diabetes. Sweet potato, pumpkin and beetroot contain carbohydrate. Follow the portion advice you have been given.
• Kidney disease. Sweet potato, pumpkin and beetroot contain potassium, which people with advanced kidney disease may need to limit.
• Weight management. Ghee is energy-dense. A tablespoon holds roughly 110 to 130 kilocalories, so measure it if you are watching your intake.
• Burns and hot trays. Handle hot ghee and trays carefully, and keep children away.

This recipe is general education, not medical advice. Please read the medical disclaimer, see a doctor about any health concern, and a registered Ayurvedic practitioner (BAMS in India) if you want Ayurvedic treatment.

Frequently asked questions