How to Make Ghee
Ghee is one of the basic cooking ingredients used in most of the kitchens in India almost every day. This golden yellow colored semi solid fat has a high smoking point and nutty flavor. The process of making ghee from butter is very simple and requires only one ingredient – butter. It takes only 10-15 minutes and is also cheaper to make at home than buying from the store. This step by step recipe uses unsalted butter but salted butter works as well.
| Ingredients: |
| 2 8oz sticks of unsalted Butter (approx. 473 gms) |
Directions:
- We have used kerrygold unsalted butter in this recipe.
- Take butter in a heavy based deep pot and place it on a medium flame.
- Once it melts completely, reduce the flame to low.
- Soon the foam will appear on top and it will start bubbling.
- After a few minutes, there will be less foam and milk solids will start to separate.
- Within 4-5 minutes, milk solids will start to settle down at the bottom and there will be only tiny bubbles on the top.
- When the milk solids start to turn golden brown, turn off the flame. They will turn golden brown (not brown) within a few minutes because of the hot pot. Don’t overcook or the color of the ghee will start to turn brown. Ghee will cook continue after turning off the stove so cook it until it starts golden brown. Let the ghee cool down for 5-10 minutes.
- Strain it using a strainer into a clean glass jar or a clean stainless-steel container. Discard the brown milk solids.
- Let the ghee cools down completely. Cover the jar with a lid. When cools down completely, it will have a grainy texture and semi-solid consistency. It stays good for 3-4 months in the pantry at room temperature. Store it in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life (approx. 6 months).
Tips and Variations:
- To prevent it from burning, always use a heavy based pan or pot.
- To prevent ghee from overflowing from the pot, always keep a ladle inside the pot while cooking.
- You can halve, double, or triple the recipe as per the requirement. It will take more time to cook when you will cook it in a large quantity.
- When you are making ghee in a large quantity, use a large and deep pot.
- Don’t overcook the ghee. Keep an eye on ghee once the milk solids start to separate. As the ghee will cook continue after turning off the stove so cook it until it starts golden brown.
Taste: buttery
Serving Ideas: You can use ghee to make Indian sweets like almond besan laddu, rava laddu, mohanthal, nankhatai, etc. or spread it on paratha, roti, bhakri, chapati, rotli, etc. to keep them soft for a longer period or drizzle over hot khichdi and dal to make it flavorful.