The very first solid food my mother fed me as a baby in our southern India household was mashed-up rice mixed with a little ghee. This set the stage for my lifelong love affair with this nutty, rich, golden clarified butter.

In recent years, ghee has become a global phenomenon, trending as a “superfood” and beloved by followers of the popular Keto diet. But its history — real and legendary — is long.

Ghee originated in India, where the heat was not conducive to storing butter for long periods. But when that butter was clarified — heated until the water evaporates and the milk solids separate away — the product had a long shelf life. For thousands of years, ghee has been featured in Indian recipes, and even in Hindu mythology, which attributes its origins to the divine. The story goes that Prajapati, lord of the creatures, rubbed his hands together to create the first ghee, which he then poured into flames to create his offspring. As a result, ghee is poured into sacred fires by Hindus to this day, a practice thought to be auspicious for marriages, funerals and other ceremonies.

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