Ishaan Khatter recently recounted an amusing anecdote from when he was shooting for his film Dhadak, during which he had to eat a plate full of green chillies for a scene, albeit with a twist. “Eating the pepper is my ode to Dhadak. I ate chillies in the food-eating competition in the film. I ate the actual chillies. I was given jaggery and ghee with chillies,” Khatter told Khaane main kya hai Host Kunal Vijayakar.
Khatter added that the team members “were trying to neutralise the spice so that we could go through six hours of shooting of an eating scene and not die”.
But how exactly do ghee and jaggery help?
Can you eat green chillies? (Photo: Freepik)
The substance that gives chillies their fiery kick is called capsaicin. “Since capsaicin is oil-soluble, it adheres to fats but not to water. Ghee is a rich, clarified butter that works well with spicy foods because its fat binds to capsaicin. This lessens the sting of the chilli and makes the heat much more tolerable by forming a calming coating in your mouth and throat,” said Kanikka Malhotra, consultant dietician & diabetes educator.
On the other hand, jaggery and sugar don’t dissolve capsaicin, but their sweetness offers immediate relief. “Your meal is more pleasurable because the sweet flavour diverts your attention from the burning feeling. Being a natural sweetenerjaggery is as effective as sugar,” said Malhotra.
When ghee is combined with sugar or jaggery, you get the best of both worlds: the sweetness of the sugar or jaggery soothes your taste buds, while the fat in the ghee melts the heat from the chilli.
“Traditional Indian recipes frequently combine spicy foods with a little ghee and something sweet for a well-balanced, filling meal because of this easy trick,” said Malhotra.
DISCLAIMER: This article is based on information from the public domain and/or the experts we spoke to. Always consult your health practitioner before starting any routine.