5 Cooling and Healthy Recipes to Prepare with Bilona Ghee This Summer

Indian summer is scorching, and cool drinks and ice creams are the first thought of by the majority of people, but Ayurveda has long prescribed something much healthier, something that includes Bilona Ghee. Low in fat, rich in fat-soluble vitamins and butyric acid, which is friendly to the gut, does not only add flavour to your food but actually cools the body down in the middle of the hottest months of the year, boosts the digestive system, and maintains the energy level steady all the year round.

We make our own ghee at Haveli Desi Ghee, using the age-old Bilona process. The curd is churned by hand to get butter that is then gently simmered to make pure, fragrant ghee. What comes out is a product that is not only full of the natural nutritional value but one that is full of desi generations of wisdom.

5 Cooling and Healthy Recipes to Prepare with Bilona Ghee: More Summer Favourites

1. Sattu Sharbat with a Ghee Twist

Sattu, a beverage prepared using roasted Bengal gram is a power cooling drink that is consumed in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Although it is normally used as a beverage, a small teaspoon of Bilona Ghee of Haveli Desi Ghee renders it more satisfying and helps to better absorb the nutrients.

How to Make it: 

Mix 2 tablespoons of sattu in a glass of chilled water. Add black salt, roasted cumin powder, lemon juice and chopped green chilli and coriander. Stir well. Prior to serving, sprinkle half a teaspoon of ghee and blend. Drink chilled.

Why It Works in Summer: 

Sattu helps to cool the stomach, gives enduring energy and helps to avoid dehydration. The ghee lubricates the gut, and facilitates digestion--particularly handy when the appetite declines in full heat.

2. Aam Panna Rice (Raw Mango Rice)

The most renowned cooling food in summer is raw mango. Blended with aromatic tempering in ghee, this rice dish is tangy, light and very refreshing.

How to Make it: 

Prepare basmati rice and allow to cool down a bit. In a pan, heat one tablespoon of Bilona Ghee. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, dried red chillies and a pinch of asafoetida. After spluttering, add grated raw mango, turmeric and salt. Toss the rice in this tempering. Serve with fresh coriander leaves and coconuts. Serve on ice.

Why It Works in Summer: 

The raw mango is a good source of Vitamin C and prevents heat stroke. The ghee tempering helps to increase the bioavailability of turmeric and renders the dish easy to digest.

3. Kokum and Coconut Milk Kadhi

This kadhi is inspired by the West Indians with kokum (a natural cooling fruit) replacing yogurt, thus this kadhi is thinner and more appropriate to use during summer evenings.

How to Make it: 

Place 8-10 kokum pieces in warm water for 15 minutes. In a pan, put one tablespoon Bilona Ghee, mustard seeds, green chillies and grated ginger. Add the thin coconut milk and the water that is soaked in kokum. Salt and jaggery. Cook at low temperature for 10 minutes. Serve with hot rice.

Why It Works in Summer: 

Kokum is a natural antacid and natural body coolant, which works best in summer. Coconut milk is rehydrating and simple to digest. The small amount of ghee to temper the dish grounds the dish and incorporates fat soluble nutrients.

4. Thandai-Inspired Phirni

Phirni is a light rice pudding, made into an extravagant summer dessert with the addition of thandai spice-fennel, cardamom, pepper, and rose. It is finished with a traditional addition of drizzle of Bilona Ghee on top.

How to Make it: 

Put 3 tablespoons of coarse rice flour into the milk and then leave it to soak for 20 minutes. Heat full fat milk in a pan with a heavy bottom, then pour in the soaked rice and stir on low heat until it has thickened. Add sugar and a pinch of saffron soaked in warm milk, cardamom powder, fennel powder and crushed almonds. Pour into clay bowls and refrigerate for 2 hours. Prior to service, drizzle half a teaspoon of ghee and serve with rose petals and pistachios.

Why It Works in Summer: 

Clay bowls naturally cool phirni. The thandai spices relax the digestive system and internal heat of the body. Ghee is enriching and helps in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins in nuts and saffron.

5. Moong Dal Chilla with Mint Chutney

Moong dal is among the lightest and easiest digestible legumes - perfect in the summer when the metabolism of the body is slow and the heaviest food is unpleasant. A ghee-roasted chilla is the ideal summer breakfast and light dinner.

How to Make it: 

Soak yellow moong dal overnight. Combine into a fine batter with green chillies, ginger and salt. Wipe a tawa with a half-teaspoon of Bilona Ghee of Haveli Desi Ghee, and heat over medium flame.Pour a ladle of batter and spread it thin. Cook until it turns golden and flip and cook the backside. Accompanied with fresh mint and coriander chutney.

Why It Works in Summer: 

Moong dal is cooling, contains a lot of protein, and is gut-friendly. The use of Bilona Ghee over oil in cooking makes the chilla light and non-greasy, and it has a unique, tasty smell that can only be likened to oil that is refined.

Why Bilona Ghee Is the Best Cooking Fat to Use This Summer

Not all Ghee created equal and when summer wellness is concerned, the type of ghee you use is important as recipes. Created using the traditional method of hand-churning, Bilona Ghee has been distinguished by its nutritional quality, as well as digestibility, compared to commercially produced ghee which makes it the smarter option in your summer kitchen.

The Reason it is so effective in heat:

1. It is Naturally Cooling but not Heating

One of the misconceptions is that ghee will always create body heat. The Bilona process of making pure A2 cow ghee in Ayurveda is considered Sheeta virya (cooling in potency) when taken in moderation. It balances Pitta dosha, the most common dosha that erupts during summer leading to inflammation, acidity, and skin irritation.

2. Promotes Gut Health in Summer

Heat suppresses digestive fire (Agni), resulting in slow digestion, bloating and inefficient intake of nutrients. Naturally found butyric acid in Bilona Ghee feeds the gut lining, maintains bowel movement and subtly encourages digestion without irritating the system in the manner of spicy or oily foods.

3. Contains a Lot of Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Traditionally prepared ghee is rich in vitamins A, D, E and K. These vitamins are important in the preservation of the skin, immunity and energy which all fall under the stress during long hot summers.

4. It has High Smoke Point

Quick and light preparations can be used in summer cooking. High smoke point (approximately 250 C) of bilona Ghee implies that it does not dissolve into harmful substances even when cooked at high temperatures, as opposed to refined oils that oxidise easily and cause the formation of the free radicals.

Each jar of ghee in Haveli Desi Ghee is a product of careful, unhurried craftsmanship since we feel that what you put in your food is what defines your health, season after season.

Final Thoughts

Summer food is all about moderation, keeping the body cool, the gut happy and the energy level even without stuffing heavy or processed food. All these recipes show that a traditional Indian cooking, on the right ingredients is seasonally engineered to the utmost.

At Haveli Desi Ghee, we are sure that the quality of your meal is determined by the quality of your ghee. We use traditionally churned Bilona Ghee to prepare it, because your family deserves nothing less than it.