HOW TO : MAKE GHEE (Clarified Butter)

Post by Sneha

I have been living in the USA for over a year now. This is a very versatile country which has embraced so many different cultures. It is a melange of so many cultures from all over the world and everyone has contributed something to the society. And quite obviously the best part of this for a foodie like myself is that I get to taste a variety of cuisines.

But no matter how much I love it here and no matter how much I get to explore, there are certain things from home which I always crave. Even though almost everything you want is available here, somehow it can never be like ‘mom’-made. One such thing which is a quintessential part of Indian cooking and which we all must have seen our moms make from scratch in India is ghee or clarified butter.

In India, milk is boiled before being used. Mostly it’s full fat milk. Oh yeah, we squirm at the thought of that. But having skimmed milk is almost like a crime for most Indians (at least for most Indians from my mom’s generation). They feel cheated if they are given milk with its fat removed. Plus, if they get fat free milk in India, how are they supposed to make ghee!

I still remember how my mom made ghee. Once milk was boiled, my mom would take out the layer of cream on top and collect many such layers of cream over a period of time. Then she would have the cream curdled and then churn the butter out of it. This butter is basically unsalted butter. That she would heat up to remove the milk solids. Ta-da! Ghee was ready! Well it’s not as simple as it sounds. Believe me!

Now when I make ghee at home, I skip many steps and do the smart thing - buy unsalted butter! So all that I have to do is boil it till the right time and strain it. The aroma from the ghee transports me right back to my childhood.

Let me tell you the exact process of making ghee at home.

• Firstly you need unsalted butter. Salted butter will not work. I buy mine from ‘Ralphs’ grocery store. Normally I buy two packets of butter. Each contains 4 sticks of 4 oz each. I use 7 sticks for the ghee and keep 1 for other use. This ghee lasts me almost two months.

• Take a thick bottomed pot to make the ghee. I use this kadhai or Indian wok. This makes sure that the butter doesn't burn. 

• Place the unsalted butter sticks in the pot. On a medium flame, let the butter melt completely. On the scale of 1-10 for the burner, 10 being the hottest, I keep my burner on 5 for this process. It takes about 15 min for the butter to melt completely on this heat.

• Once the butter is completely melted, reduce the flame slightly. Let the butter boil till it becomes a clear liquid as shown in the pictures. This takes around 20 min. As you can see from the pictures, the milk solids separate from the butter to give you clarified butter. Do not boil it beyond this point or you might end up getting burnt ghee which is brownish in color. 

• Turn off the flame and let the ghee cool completely. Cooling down of the ghee before straining is very important. If you strain it before it's cooled, the steam from the hot ghee gets collected over the lid of the container and that moist environment is favorable for fungal growth over the ghee. I speak from experience! The container that you use to store ghee must be completely dry too. 

• Now strain the ghee. For straining, I use a regular strainer over which I put a layer of muslin cloth. This method for straining has worked best for me of all the tried and tested methods. It is pretty easy and hassle-free too. It is a foolproof way of straining out the milk solids.

There is something so satisfying about making your own ghee at home. It is a great way to save a lot of money on store bought ghee. You also know that what you are eating is adulteration-free. Ghee when made right is the pale yellow color as shown below. The color of ghee also depends on the kind of milk that was used to make the butter. So it's either pale yellow or white. 

I enjoy my ghee the most over daal and rice with some 'mom'-made mango pickle. What do you love it with the most?