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Friday, December 3, 2010

Basics: Homemade Clarified Butter "Ghee"

Ghee,Clarified Butter is made by boiling unsalted butter( in a thick bottomed pan) and eliminating the foamy whey+ milk solids from butter.Even though Ghee is prevalently used in India they are also quite common in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Ethiopia and few other countries. Unlike butter, Ghee neither burns easily nor have a short shelf-life. It doesn't have to be refrigerated either and can be stored up to 3 months. Many of the Indian dishes, especially sweets are made with ghee. And Ghee certainly has a fewer calories than butter. How rewarding!
Ghee solidifies during cold weather. Melt it before using in any dish to unlock the aroma to its fullest.

Some dishes from my kitchen with Ghee -- Fruit KesariRice Dumplings in Coconut Milk, Channa Masala, Cocoa N Saffron Vermicelli Pudding, Steamed Sweet Rice Dumplings "Kozhukattai" and of-course Ghee Rice.

Question: What do you do with the milk solids settled at the bottom of the pan? My next post will be on what I did with it.
Ingredients(Makes ~ 3/4 Cup):
  • 8 Ounces(2 Sticks/ 1 Cup) "Unsalted" Butter
  • 1 Stalk Curry Leaf, cleaned and patted dry with paper towel (Optional)
Tools:
  • Thick Bottomed Steel Pan like All-Clad or Kadai (Indian Wok)
  • Steel Strainer
Procedure:
  • Start off by melting 2 sticks of butter in a thick bottomed pan.
  • Keep the heat at medium-low. Keep stirring occasionally and push the foamy whey  to the sides of the pan.
  • The foamy whey bubbles to the top and most of them settle at the bottom of the pan after 10 minutes of simmering.
  • Switch off the stove and throw in the stalk of curry leaf(if using). Let it cool completely.
  • Skim the foamy whey and the curry leaf stalk on top and carefully strain the golden brown "Clarified Butter" into a storage jar/cup without disturbing the milk solids settled at the bottom.
  • Use the ghee to make sweets, curries or biryani.
Makes ~3/4 Cup of Ghee

Enjoy!

22 comments:

  1. Ghee is a everyday thing in our house..tho i try to stay away from it...atleast for the kids...I have it ready always...I too make it in similar way....and fresh made one smells so gooooood!!

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  2. wow nice way to make ghee and its also very cost effective than store bought.

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  3. hey, a new thing is the curry leaf, how does that help or what is the purpose of that?

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  4. fresh made ones are too tasty n flavorful

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  5. @Priya-YM: Another depth of flavor, albeit mild and for additional aroma. MIL suggested it.

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  6. Excellent post. Thank you for the info about ghee. I am learning so much from my Indian blogger friends like you:)

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  7. ohhh i love the smeel of fresh ghee made at home...Dear you have an award in my blog...:)

    Dr.Sameena@

    http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

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  8. we keep saying we need to add ghee to little ones food for extra calories lol

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  9. I love the aroma of ghee.My grandma uses drumstick leaves.Using curry leaf is mew to me.

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  10. My mom told me to give tiny amount of ghee to the baby everyday and I was not sure of the store bought ones. so now am storing malai to make fresh ghee at home. next time will try your process with fresh butter.

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  11. I love home-made ghee and it's aroma but I never add curry leaves.

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  12. Hi Lassie

    Ghee looks awesome. Such homemade preparation instill confidence within us that we too can emulate such a master chef and prepare such awesome dish.

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  13. Home made ghee, love it..Waiting eagerly for the next post.

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  14. making ghee in homeis purest form and good for health good tips

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  15. What a cool post! Ghee is so expensive here and it would be much cheaper just to make it myself!

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  16. Hi,
    I've been following your blog for a while, simply love all your food and recipes.

    Just wanna ask, so by following the steps that you specified, I'm gonna get ghee?
    * it's kinda difficult to find ghee at my place.

    Thanks :)

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  17. @PatinPasta: Thanks a bunch. I am glad that you love my recipes. I aim to please. :)

    Yes, that brown liquid that you see is Ghee. And the recipe is fail-proof.I make it once a month and store it at room temp.

    Do try with one stick and see how you like the end result. And let me know if you hit any hurdles.

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  18. Hi again :),

    Ahh.. thanks! Next time I plan to make biryani I will definately make the ghee first. The smell of biryani with ghee is just heaven! :)

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  19. oh mum also adds curry leaves to the ghee ...you know i love fresh ghee with warm rice :)

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Thanks a bunch for your valuable comments and continued support.They are very much appreciated. Yes,like "Rain on Dry Land" and like "Oasis in Desert Sand".
XoXo, Cool Lassi(e)