08 July 2008

Ghee



So, ever since my best friends wedding I have been on an Indian food kick. I was spoiled the week of her wedding with endless homemade Indian cuisine that was so fantastically delicious I thought I'd try my hand in it. What I didn't know is that traditional Indian cuisine calls for Ghee about 90% of the time. Ghee is a refined butter and very easy to make. I decided to search on how to make it since the cheapest I could find it online was about $20 after shipping. The directions are very simple. (The pictures above show Ghee in its final clarified state and the second picture is of the milk products curdled at the bottom of the pan).


Ghee
1 lb Unsalted "real" butter (not margarine)


In a heavy saucepan, put the 1 lb of butter in the pan on medium heat. Allow the butter to melt down and come to a rolling boil. Let the butter boil for about 15 minutes. It will smell sort of like popcorn (no kidding). The milk fats will curdle at the bottom of the saucepan and the oil on top of the curdles is what's left, and that is called Ghee. The Ghee should be a clear gold color, once the Ghee reaches the clear gold color you will want to remove it from the heat and let it sit until it is room temperature. Once it is cooled you have to strain it into a clean glass jar. I used a couple of old pantyhose to strain it (cheese cloth or a super fine sieve will work if you have either, if not, use pantyhose). Avoid any water getting into the glass jar as it will cause harmful bacteria to form and ruin your Ghee.

Ghee has many beneficial elements to it. It is refined to the point where all the fats that are bad for you are boiled out leaving you with an oil. The Ghee aids in digestion and offers other benefits that you can't get from using olive oil or actual butter. It can also be used as massage oil (I don't think I'll be using it for that, but good to know).

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