Ghee is a staple in every Indian household. Wouldn’t you agree with me? It is also known as clarified butter and is a much healthier fat to consume and cook food with. Not to mention, how much it elevates the taste of almost every Indian dish that you decide to use it for!
Would you believe me if I tell you that I know some people who would eat Ghee by spoonfuls just for its taste! Not saying that I am one of them. While I do love how it elevates and enhances the taste of everything, eating it ‘raw’ doesn’t appeal that much to me. But hey, I am not judging!
Why I mentioned all this? Because for those who are not very familiar with ghee, I want to give you an idea of how popular it is in our families. People love it! And rightfully so! It is believed (at least in my family) that if you are cooking for a special occasion, you cannot use anything other than ghee. The aroma, the flavor it imparts to the food is just irreplaceable. Some dishes undeniably taste great and authentic only if they are cooked in desi ghee.
WHY GHEE?
I wrote about how much I love ghee and the general benefits of using ghee in an earlier post here.
When I moved to the States and actually started cooking day to day food, I rushed to the grocery store to buy desi ghee. And continued doing so for a good year and a half. That was until one of my friends introduced me to the idea of making it at home. Don’t get me wrong. I have seen my mother making ghee at home all the time. But the idea of making it myself at home never even crossed my mind before that.
Add to that my memories of the smell of making ghee. You would know what I mean if you have had desi ghee being made at home. I am not a fan, to say the least! That smell used to waft through every nook and corner of the house and would stay for hours. But then I got to know that there IS another smell free method of making ghee which is easy, hassle free and uses just one ingredient!
All you need is unsalted butter. You can find unsalted butter in any grocery store. I get mine from Costco and it works really well.
You would wonder why get butter from the store and then make ghee out of it and why not get ghee only from the store. Well. Two reasons. First, store bought ghee is so much more expensive than home made version. Trust me! And second, the satisfaction of making something at home knowing exactly what you are putting into it is something else!
I have been making ghee at home since the past almost a year and a half and I will not be getting store bought ghee ever!
What you need to do is get a thick bottomed pan. You can use a pressure cooker pan (obviously without the lid) for this as well. In the pan, melt the butter and let it simmer for a few minutes. You will see, the butter will magically transform and what you will get is clear and golden ghee with the milk solids settled at the bottom.
I have made a video of me making ghee and I have tried to explain everything as well as possible. You can check out the video on my Youtube channel as well.
If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to comment.
Till next time,
XO, Sakshi!
