How to Make Ghee at Home (From Butter or Cream)

What ghee is

Ghee is butter that has been simmered until its water evaporates and its milk solids toast and separate, leaving pure, golden butterfat. Unlike clarified butter, which is removed from the heat before the solids brown, ghee is cooked a little longer, so it takes on a nutty, slightly caramel aroma. It keeps for months without refrigeration and can be heated much hotter than butter without burning, which is why it’s the traditional cooking fat for tarka, halwas and sweets across South Asia.

From butter

You’ll need: 500 g unsalted butter and a heavy-bottomed pan.

1. Melt the butter on medium-low heat.
2. It foams. After a few minutes the butter bubbles loudly and a white foam rises. This is the water boiling off. Don’t stir much; just let it bubble.
3. It goes quiet. After 10–15 minutes, the bubbling becomes gentle and the foam thins. The liquid turns clear and golden, and you’ll see milk solids sinking to the bottom.
4. Watch closely now. The solids at the bottom turn from white to light golden-brown, and the kitchen smells of toasted nuts or popcorn. This takes another 2–5 minutes.
5. Take it off the heat as soon as the solids are golden-brown. They go from golden to burnt in under a minute.
6. Strain through a fine sieve lined with muslin or a coffee filter into a clean, completely dry jar.

500 g of butter gives about 400 g of ghee.

From malai (the traditional way)

Many South Asian households skim the cream (malai) from boiled milk every day and store it in the fridge or freezer. When there’s a good amount (about 2–3 cups), it becomes ghee:

1. Optional: whip the cold malai in a blender with a little ice water until butter separates, then drain. This gives more ghee and less residue.
2. Otherwise, put the malai straight in a heavy pan and cook on medium-low, stirring often, for 30–45 minutes. It will separate into clear ghee and brown solids.
3. Strain as above.

Ghee from malai has a deeper, more traditional flavour.

How to tell it’s done

• The bubbling has nearly stopped.
• The ghee is clear when you tilt the pan.
• The solids at the bottom are golden-brown, not white and not black.
• It smells nutty, not burnt.

Storing

• Use a completely dry jar and spoon. Any water makes ghee spoil.
• It keeps for 3 months at room temperature in a sealed jar away from heat, and longer in the fridge.
• It’s normal for ghee to set into a soft, grainy solid in cool weather.

The brown bits

The toasted solids left in the sieve (ghee ki khurchan) are delicious. Mix them with sugar and atta to make a quick sweet, stir them into roti dough, or spread them on warm paratha.

Problems

• Burnt smell or dark ghee: the heat was too high, or it cooked too long after the solids browned. Use lower heat and watch the last stage.
• Cloudy ghee: water remained. Return to the heat and simmer a few more minutes.
• Went rancid: water or a wet spoon got into the jar.

Use your ghee in suji halwa, gajar halwa, pongal, or a daal tarka.