I have been reading recently about how ghee is very fattening and high in cholesterol compared to cooking oil. But what about vegetable ghee? Is it as bad as ghee made from cow's milk? They offer both kinds in the shop where I buy my Indian cooking supplies and to me they taste the same.

Hello Amanda

Indian vegetable ghee, called Vanaspati Ghee (in Hindi, the word 'vanaspati' means vegetable) is actually a solidified vegetable oil, made to look like ghee. It is high in saturated fats and generally worse than clarified butter ghee. Google and see for yourself.

When I was young, a brand of Vanaspati ghee called 'Dalda' was very, very popular. As people became aware of cholesterol, HDL, LDL and so on, they switched to other, better vegetable oils. The restaurants and shop still use it. I am not sure how the Vegetable Ghee you saw is made, it is worth finding out. Look for Vanaspati ghee as opposed to vegetarian ghee.

Do bear in mind that most Hindus consider milk, butter and ghee vegetarian, provided to them by the holy cow, whom they worship as 'mother cow' for this very reason; it provides us with milk, butter and ghee, for ourselves and for our children.

Mamta

Hello Mamta

Thanks for the information about ghee. That's really interesting, I didn't imagine that the vegetable ghee would be even more high in cholesterol etc. Also didn't know why the holy cow was called holy, so that's interesting too!

Amanda