My earliest memory of eating ghee is Uppu-Tuppada Anna. When I was a young child, Amma (mom) would first thoroughly mash the freshly prepared Anna (rice) with her dexterous fingers. She would then add a small pinch of Uppu (salt), a generous amount of golden yellow Tuppa (ghee) and knead delicately some more. Next came the process of rolling the uppu-tuppada anna into small, tight bite-sized balls.
My sis and I (sometimes our two little cousins who lived nearby) would sit cross-legged on the floor (no dining table in those days) in a semi-circle, waiting in eager anticipation for Amma’s thuttu (hand feeding). All of us would hold out our palms out. Slowly and delicately, she would drop a small uppu-tuppa anna ball on each of our outstretched palms. The youngest got his turn first. I was the oldest and the hungriest but had to patiently wait for my turn.
When the warm, aromatic ball touched my skin, the gastronomical experience began. Amma would warn us “eat slowly”. And slowly we did. When this delicacy popped into our mouths, our eyes would close in pure ecstasy. The taste of the tuppa rice – especially tended by a mother’s (substitute with your own) loving touch, was an out-of-this-world experience. Somehow eating uppu-tuppada anna on your own is not that magical. One needs a loving adult or a friend to roll the ball into your hands and say, “eat slowly”.
What is Ghee?
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- Liquid Ghee
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- Semi Liquid Ghee
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- Congealed Ghee
This golden liquid probably needs no introduction to someone from the Indian sub-continent. Chances are most of us grew up eating this goodness. It is also an important part of religious Hindu ceremonies and weddings, where nei (Tamil), neyyi (Telugu) or tuppa (Kannada) is poured into a homam or havan (sacred fire). Ghee has become popular in the western world as well, thanks to the introduction of Ayurveda and the popularization of diets like keto.
You can make it either from cow’s milk or water buffalo’s milk. The taste and color varies depending on the type of bovine. Ghee from cow’s milk is golden yellow, while that of the water buffalo is cream.
Ghee happens when all the water content and milk solids are removed from butter. The alchemy of food is almost magical to watch. From milk, to cream, to butter, and finally to ghee!
My 90-year-old mom continues to remove cream from the milk she boils. She accumulates the cream in the freezer, and when it is time, she churns butter by hand. The process is mesmerizing, to put it mildly. After the butter is set aside for dosa or idli, the rest of it is made into delicious tuppa.
While adding fenugreek (methi) seeds and curry leaf sprig is entirely optional, I do it because I feel that the shelf life, flavor, and texture are vastly improved. Some even add moringa leaves. Old wives tale? Perhaps you want to make two batches – one with and one without – and find out for yourself. Let me know in the comments.
Why Use Ghee?
- Ghee has a high smoke point. At 450F/230C, it makes for a wonderful cooking medium.
- Homemade ghee is highly aromatic and lends a delicious flavor to your cooking.
- Ghee has several health benefits, which you can read about in our Four Unexpected Benefits of Ghee (Clarified Butter).
- Most people that have intolerance to dairy can digest ghee. This is because most of the lactose and casein (milk protein) is removed during the process of making ghee from butter. Ghee is fat, while lactose is a carbohydrate.
- For those that are following diets like Keto, vegetable oils are on the ‘do not consume’ list. For such people, ghee is a wonderful option.
- Modern research points out that eating “good” fats is necessary for the body to thrive. Good fats include grass-fed ghee, olive oil, olives, avocado and the like.
- Eating healthy fats like ghee keeps us sated longer. Fewer trips to the pantry or the refrigerator looking for snacks to quell mid-meal hunger pangs.
Clarified Butter or Ghee is rich in fat and contains high concentrations of a healthy fatty acid called monosaturated Omega-3s. This helps support a healthy heart and cardiovascular system, if eaten in moderation. There are various studies demonstrating that using ghee as a part of a balanced diet can help reduce unhealthy cholesterol levels.
Ghee Recipes
It tastes wonderful over a warm toasty piece of bread, with idli, dosa, roti and in several recipes. I’ve featured this golden goodness in these blogs:
- Uppudu Pindi – Mung & Rawa Upma
- Green Mung Sprouts Curry
- Cracked Wheat Vegetable Upma
- Vegetable Multigrain Khichdi
- Delicious Sooji Upma
- South Indian Brown Rice Khichdi
- Sweet Pongal (Huggi)
- Instant Pot Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani
- Gasagase Payasa (Poppy Seed Kheer)
- Hesarubele (Split Mung) Payasa
- Easy Rasam Recipe
- Sarson Ka Saag
- Delicious Dal Tadka
- Creamy Instant Pot Carrot (Gajar) Halwa
- Date Almond Boats
- Savory Brown Rice Pongal
- Akki-Haalu Payasa (Rice Kheer)
- Doddapatre Tambuli (Karpooravalli Thayir Pachadi)
- Hearty Sarson Pancharatna Dal
- Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
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Homemade Ghee - Foolproof and Easy!
Ingredients
- 8 Ounce Butter - Unsalted, preferable Grass-fed
- 1/4 Teaspoon Fenugreek Seeds
- 1 Sprig Curry Leaves
Instructions
- Soften unsalted butter so it comes to room temperature. If the butter has been directly removed from the refrigerator and is hard, it will just take a little longer to make ghee. It will not affect the taste or the color of the ghee.
- In a thick bottom dish, add softened stick of butter.
- Turn the flame to medium and allow the butter to melt slowly.
- Once melted, the butter will start bubbling. Don't skim off the foamy top. Resist the urge to stir (well, maybe you can gently stir once, if you are tempted).
- As the water content starts to evaporate, the bubbling slowly starts to dissipate, and the milk solids settle to the bottom and brown slightly. Turn the flame to low at this point.
- As the color of the liquid starts to turn golden, add fenugreek seeds.
- Once the bubbling has almost stopped, add the curry leaf sprig and turn off the heat.
- Wait for 5 minutes for the ghee to cool down.
- Using a sieve, filter out the solids from the liquid. Ghee is ready.
- At this point, the ghee is in liquid state. Ghee will solidify at room temperature.
- Ghee will stay fresh in your pantry for up to 3 weeks. If you don't plan to consume it within that period, store them in small air-tight glass jars and refrigerate (I use the baby food bottles). It will stay fresh in the refrigerator for 4-6 months.
- You can use the curry leaf and fenugreek seeds in any food preparation that calls for them (search our Recipes page for these in the Select Ingredient box). I like to eat all the solid residue over a piece of warm Zucchini Banana Bread!
Very good article and recipe one of the better ones! My ghee has been burning lately as I try to be patient to allow the milk solids at top to fall and brown but they never seem to before it burns. I tried your tip to turn heat to low the last bit while also turning off and allowing 5 min but still failed at the end it seems. Also my previous experiences are that my ghee smokes a bit when added to frying pan I thought this wasn’t supposed to be the case. Lastly I’ve heard ghee to be permanently shelf stable an ex of this are tombs discovered to contain it still good, like honey. Your recipe says 2 weeks. I’ve found older butter(over 6mo old, probably common in grocery stores) lasts much shorter
Oh and when I say burned well, I’m sensitive to it burning as it’s happened before and such a disappointment. I’ve noticed it happens quickly. Mine developed a mostly dark brown look of the solids which was my assumption however after looking at other pictures it seems most people do let it get to about that point. My biggest successes seemed to be when it was still golden color rather than brown. Admittedly I do still consume these questionable batches which makes me think maybe it’s ok and even preferable however I can also tell the taste changes to, say, bitter? And a little burnt flavor. I imagine this is where you would say I over did it? Thank you so much for the hood and inspiration namaste!
Hello Pio, thanks for your detailed message. Let me see if I can address all of your questions.
1. As for the burning, I am wondering if the butter you are using has a lot of water content? I use Kerrigold Unsalted Butter and consistently get amazing results (this is cheaper in Costco, if you have a membership). Try this brand and let me know your experience.
2. You definitely want your ghee to be golden yellow vs. brown (sign of it being burnt). It is perfectly ok to consume overdone (or underdone) batches. Thank you for not wasting food!
3. If you ghee is smoking in the frying pan, it may mean that you’ve turned on the heat a little too high. Or your pan is not thick-bottomed and is heating up fast.
4. As for shelf-life, I like to consume my ghee fresh within 2-3 weeks. After that time period, it starts to lose the wonderful aroma gradually, but it is still very much edible. Another option to maintain freshness is to pack your freshly made ghee into small glass bottles and refrigerate (or even freeze) until it is time for it to be used.
Let me know if you have any other questions. Namaste to you as well.