After R K Narayan, now GI-ready Rasipuram ghee set to treat senses

Chennai: Rasipuram, a small town in Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu, climbed the pinnacle of fame when its name got affixed to its most famous son Rasipuram Krishnaswamaiyer Narayanaswamaiyer. It is the given name of legendary novelist R K Narayan.The town is also known for its aromatic ghee. Rasipuram ghee has now become the latest candidate for the coveted Geographical Indication (GI) tag owing to its unique taste, aroma and distinct production process.The evergreen vegetation of the nearby Kolli Hills, which serve as grazing grounds for the cattle in Namakkal district, is an important contributor to the richness of the milk that farmers use to make their butter, said P Sanjai Gandhi, registered attorney for Geographical Indication and nodal officer for registered GI Products in Tamil Nadu.Of the 58 GI products in Tamil Nadu, Sanjai Gandhi alone has obtained the tag for 40 products so far.In the present GI application he has filed for Nabard Madurai Agri Business Incubation Forum, on behalf of Rasipuram ghee manufactures, he said: “Traditional Rasipuram ghee has a nutty flavour that gives an added depth to dishes. As in butter, the acidity of the fat determines the quality of ghee. So, salts were added to maintain the acidity level and increase the shelf life of the product. Melted ghee is first seasoned with a pinch of salt to remove the acidity of the leftover buttermilk, and then further tempered with Moringa leaves, which act as a preservative. The fried moringa leaves and browned milk solids (called kasadu) are removed with a strainer before the ghee is sold.”While ghee made from buffalo milk butter is usually used in temple oil lamps, the product made from cow’s milk butter is used to cook and in herbal medicines.Explaining the unique method of production, the application said: “The boiling process, it must be understood, is totally different from the heating process. The boiling process is always done at temperatures above 100°C in order to boil away the water of the serum of the butter. With large boilers the maximum temperature rarely exceeds 116°C. Too high a temperature must be avoided so as not to give the ghee a browned colour or a slightly burnt taste.“Melted ghee is first seasoned with a pinch of rock salt to remove acidity of the leftover buttermilk, and then further tempered with Moringa leaves, which act as a preservative. When done in small batches, the entire process of making ghee takes just a few minutes on a medium gas flame. But it requires skill to keep the butter from over-burning. The fried moringa leaves and browned milk solids (called kasadu) are removed with a strainer before the ghee is sold. The leaves and kasadu can be eaten separately with rice. Once melted, the ghee is filtered through a cloth strainer and stored in 15-kg tins in an air-conditioned hall for a day to allow the contents to settle.”
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