Basics 101

Homemade Ghee

Ghee is a simple process that turns butter into the most flavorful foundation and quintessential condiment in each and every Indian house hold for authentic cooking!

Ghee

Ghee (also known as clarified butter) is delicious with a nutty flavor and aroma. It’s easy to make at home, perfect for those who are dairy-sensitive and cheaper than what you can buy in the store.

WHAT IS GHEE?

Ghee is similar to clarified butter, where all the milk solids are removed, but it’s cooked just a tad bit longer. Those extra couple of minutes allow the milk solids on the bottom of the pan to begin to brown, which gives ghee a slightly different, more nutty flavor profile to clarified butter.

I always feel majority of my cooking is incomplete without a tablespoon of ghee and garam masala in it in the end. Ghee or clarified butter adds a wonderful nutty aroma and flavour to the dish, which makes it ever more irresistible.

Is Ghee same as Clarified Butter?

Ghee is sometimes called as Clarified Butter for ease, however it is actually clarified butter that has been simmered down longer where the milk solids brown. This gives ghee it’s nutty roasted flavor.

Clarified butter and ghee both are made almost the same way. For clarified butter, you boil unsalted butter until milk solids separate. However for ghee you boil further to turn the milk solids brown.

Which Butter To Use For Making Homemade Ghee?

  • Always use UNSALTED butter. I have made ghee with salted butter too and it was good, but unsalted gives better results.
  • Use organic grass-fed butter. I have made with Kirkland brand’s (Costco) unsalted butter and it tastes good.
Ghee

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Making ghee at home and consuming it has so many benefits.

  • It’s definitely cheaper to make your own ghee, especially if you start with cream collected from milk. Even if you use organic butter, it’s still cheaper than buying store bought ghee.
  • Ghee is incredibly easy to make, and it’s hard to burn a batch of ghee. If you take it a little too far, it gets a deep brown color that smells like toffee and can still be used for cooking.
  • Ghee is a shelf stable fat, and has a long life – this also means that bacteria doesn’t grow easily in ghee.
  • It has a high smoke point which makes it perfect for cooking, stir frying and deep frying. In fact, Indians have been using ghee to deep fry for generations now.
  • It’s a nutrient dense cooking fat with Vitamin A, D, E and K2.
  • More medium chain-fatty-acids than butter, which are utilized by the liver for greater energy expenditure and are better for heart health.
  • High in Conjugated Linoleic Acid, a healthy fat that has many health benefits such as improved immune system, diabetes control and has also been linked to cancer, arthritis and heart disease prevention.
  • Ghee is perfect for people with a slight dairy sensitivity, and those who are following a paleo or whole30 diet, because while cooking it you remove the milk solids and you are left with the residual fat only.

HOW TO USE GHEE?

There is no hard and fast rule for how to use ghee. But here are a few different ways:

  • Use it in placed of oil or regular butter for sautéing or braising.
  • Use it in place of butter for drizzling over vegetables, fish, grains, etc.
  • Use it in place of butter to make a recipe diary-free.
  • Ghee has a high smoke point (about 480 degrees F), so it’s great for sautéing, frying, roasting, or in any high heat cooking.
  • I love using ghee in place of butter or coconut oil in baking. It imparts a deeper and more butter-y flavor than butter and makes heavenly baked goods!
  • If you are a fan of bulletproof coffee, you can use ghee in place of butter.
  • Drizzle over gluten free toast, popcorn, or just about anything!
  • It is used extensively when you want to make a tadka or tempering for dals.
  • Add it to anything you eat for flavour without cooking it. We love adding a teaspoon of ghee to hot, steamed rice or warm sambhar as a topping.
  • It is also a fantastic homemade moisturiser. Just rub a little bit between your palms and apply it to your skin

STORAGE SUGGESTIONS?

Store ghee in clean and dry glass jars. Ghee shelf stable up to 4-6 weeks in an airtight container at the room temperature and it stays good up to 1 year in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

What to do with the milk solids collected in the strainer?

  • You can discard the solids in the strainer
  • Mix equal amounts of jaggery to it and enjoy.
  • Add to paratha dough to make soft delicious homemade Indian flat breads.
Ghee

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Homemade Ghee

Ghee (also known as clarified butter) is delicious with a nutty flavor and aroma. It’s easy to make at home, perfect for those who are dairy-sensitive and cheaper than what you can buy in the store.
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Basics
Cuisine Indian
Servings 400 ml
Calories 124 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb butter unsalted

Instructions
 

  • Heat the butter slabs in a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat.
  • After about 15 minutes, skim the foam that rises to the surface with a spoon or slotted spoon.
  • Continue cooking until the milk solids at the bottom of the pan turn deep golden brown like the color of brown sugar, about 5-7 more minutes. It will smell amazing.
  • Turn the heat off and let cool 3 minutes.
  • Strain, using 2 layers of cheese cloth over a strainer into clean jar or pourable pitcher.
  • Pour into a clean, sealable, sanitized jar, and store on the counter, or refrigerate if you prefer.
  • Ghee will solidify slightly, especially in the colder months.

Notes

  • The recipe makes approximately 2 cups of ghee.
Keyword Brown Butter, Clarified Butter, Ghee, Homemade Ghee

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