No Bengali palate is complete without drops of ghee, be it rice, roti or paratha! For anyone from the Bengali diaspora from across the world, gastronomical delight lies in the smell and taste of ghee. Yes, not just the exotic taste, but the smell of pure ghee also fills your mind and heart with joys-unspeakable.

Bengalis are extremely fussy about ghee as well. No one would touch a ghee a second time, unless it satiates one’s taste buds. Discerning foodies are doing relentless debates, discussions and research on the purity of ghee. While some ghee brands pass the test, some fail miserably.

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Here is a home-grown ghee that has been ruling the Bengali kitchens for nearly 45 years now. From a modest beginning with a small shop at Barasat in North 24-Parganas, it has continuously been raising the bar and scaling new heights. Hailing from a family of cowherd or milkman, Hari Ghosh lost his father at an early age. He was the eldest son in the family. And therefore all responsibilities of running the family were on him. He may not have got enough opportunities to pursue his studies, but he was possibly born with the natural instincts and acumen of a businessman. The family had all along been in the trading of ghee and little wonder therefore that he took up the initiative of ghee making.

He used to make a few kilogrammes of ghee and sell them in the nearby markets. Hari Ghosh was encouraged by the positive feedback and overwhelming response from the buyers. Not only ghee, when the term “paneer” was unheard of in suburban areas, Hari Ghosh brought paneer (cottage cheese) into the market. That’s not all. He even started imparting the knowhow of cooking paneer dishes. Eventually paneer also became very popular.

What was once a business with a volume of a few kilogramme, has now reached hundreds of kilogramme in volume. Those who have bought this ghee once, have come back again and again only for the pure taste. Today, not only Barasat, but Hari Ghosh’s ghee and cheese factory is also at Krishnanagar and Haringhata. Hundreds of employees work for the company now.

Founder Hari Ghosh is no longer there (he passed away a few months ago). But the company is still driven by the spirit, vision and dynamism, with which he started this company. His son, Mrinmoy Ghosh is now running the show with the same vigour and vitality. “My father used to teach me various nuances of this business since I was a child. At least an hour a day he used to spend on this. He was an extremely simple and down-to-earth man, but his dedication and sincerity for the business was unparalleled. And he has grown this business from the scratch to where it is today,” says Mrinmoy Ghosh, the second generation scion of the Ghosh family.

Mrinmoy says that the biggest specialty of Hari Ghosh’s ghee is that the cream used for making this ghee is completely their own. It is not made of cream bought from the market or resorting to any artificial ingredients. Milk from the remote villages of North 24-Parganas reaches the factory, where pure ghee is made by a completely domestic and hygienic process.

“We control the whole process. From where the milk will come, how it will be fermented, how it will boil — we monitor everything and handle everything ourselves. It’s not just a business for us, it is pure love. Father’s dream was to make a ghee that would stain not only the tongue but also the mind,” says an emotionally turbo-charged Ghosh.

A lot of people think that high cholesterol is a risk factor for heart diseases. “There is nothing harmful in ghee, if it is pure. Chemicals are used in many ghee brands, so that it remains good for a long time. But this is harmful for your body. In our case, it is completely natural and chemical-free. So, we only have five months shelf life. We do not use any artificial flavours, colours, or preservatives. Therefore, it is healthy as well as tasty. This is why people trust us,” adds Ghosh.

Today, when the competition in the market is fierce, many people promote products through advertising or by using artificial fragrance, Hari Ghosh’s ghee is still surviving and thriving on its quality and integrity. Many people of the new generation may not know this name, but those who have once used this ghee, they know that its pure smell comes with a childhood fragrance.

While the market is full of adulteration, Hari Ghosh’s Ghee drives home the point that there is no alternative to staying pure. “And our purity is our identity,” says an upbeat Ghosh.