Ghee / Clarified Butter

This is not a recipe post. At least, for the most part. This is mostly a post on what is clarified butter (better known as ghee in India). To Indians, ghee is one of the most basic ingredients in our kitchen. We have never stopped to think twice about it. However, like most other people living outside of India, I have rediscovered and delved much more deeply into my own roots, traditions, and culture only in the midst of a foreign country surrounded by eager and curious non-Indians. Their thoughtful and simple questions always take me by surprise and make me pause as I dig into my brain to find a logical answer for their "why" "what" and "how" questions. I have learned so much more about where I come from, thanks to those questions.

In that same vein, I remember nine years ago (wow nine years!) some of my newly formed American friends asking me incredulously, "Gee? what did you just say? Sorry, I don't understand what it is".  And I giggled. It was my turn to be incredulous. I thought they didn't understand my accent. So I spelled it out for them. G H E E. The stuff that comes from butter, that we use in our.... and I trailed off. I couldn't say "our food". And that's when it struck it me for the first time. There's so much about who I am that's alien to these people. As the immigration papers indicated, I truly was an alien in their midst!

Coming back to ghee, I had no idea how to explain it. It's melted butter, I began to say. But it's not just melted butter, I told myself. Thanks to google, I brought up wikipedia to form words to my thoughts. But in these nine years, so many things have changed in the West. People have become more aware and familiar with different cuisines, including Indian cuisine and culture. The concept of clarified butter is no longer that alien. Still, every time I bring it up, people continue to be fascinated and curious.

I know there are tonnes of videos and posts online on how to prepare clarified butter, clearly expounding on its properties, uses, etc, so I am not trying to educate the world with this post that's going to be tucked and buried in a far-flung corner of the internet. This is just something I felt like writing, both for the sake of completeness within this space, and for myself.

In Ayurvedic medicine, ghee is considered to be vital in healing and soothing sores and internal wounds. It is added to many medicinal preparations, and this surprises people because ghee mainly consists of saturated fats,  and consequently is often regarded as an unhealthy food. There's recent scientific discourse on whether raw butter is actually good for you, or if saturated ghee is better. But, in moderation, a small spoon of ghee adds flavor and some needed fat into a balanced diet. So, in Indian cuisine, a small spoon of ghee is often added to cooked rice or rotis before beginning any meal. Ghee is also liberally added to most Indian sweets, which is one of the reasons why they taste so fragrant and decadent!

Is preparing ghee a complicated process? Not at all. It involves just melting and boiling butter until it turns amber and deposits the milk solids at the bottom. Preparing clarified butter in this way gives a beautiful nutty aroma and flavor that's the epitome of comfort. Although bottled ghee is very easily available in Indian stores, I strongly advocate making it at home. The taste, flavor and fragrance of home-made ghee is something nobody should miss! All it takes is to melt butter, and make sure it doesn't burn, so it's an easy enough process to do at home. You might wonder how home-made ghee would make such a distinct difference if butter is the only ingredient involved. Well, the quality of the butter is really important, and how the ghee is stored, the additives added, etc. determine the overall end product. Most store-bought bottles of ghee taste medicinal to me and have a weird after-taste, or worse, have no distinct nutty smell. Some brands are decent, but if you have ever tried home-made ghee with a decent quality of butter, it is very hard to settle on store-bought ghee!

And I am really spoiled in that regard. My mom has never bought ghee from the store, so I have pleasant memories of the days when the house would be flooded with the irresistible smell of ghee! I would often sneak into the kitchen and steal a couple of spoons of warm, fresh ghee and my insides would melt with the heady feeling and taste. No food has ever evoked such a feeling of warm comfort in me! And to top it all, my husband and I have had fresh ghee that came from thick luscious butter that was freshly (hand) churned from frothy and rich milk that was freshly received from a patient cow standing at our doorstep! My husband has even milked a cow himself, and I have helped my grand-aunt shake and churn butter in different bottles, watching with fascination at how the milk solids clump together to make a creamy concoction that does not come close to even the fanciest butter at an upscale restaurant. Once anybody has tasted such pristine and lush dairy products, there's no going back!

For people like us, making a warm batch of ghee at home means more than just the food. It has memories and precious fleeting emotions wrapped in it. So, without any more sentimental reminiscing, here's how ghee is prepared.

Ingredients: plain unsalted butter (I use Land O'Lakes butter to make really good clarified butter)

Preparation:

In a heavy bottomed pan, start melting the butter over low-medium heat, stirring occasionally. The butter will melt, froth, bubble, and turn golden amber (like shown in the pictures) in about 10-15 minutes. Switch off the heat and remove from heat immediately once it turns amber. When cool, strain the clarified butter through a mesh strainer into a clean, dry bottle. Store at room temperature for up to 2 months. Some people remove the froth and foam, and lightly skim just the surface, but nobody in my family removes the foam, and the ghee tastes just as good!

Also, don't be alarmed at the brown solids at the bottom. Nothing has burnt. It's just milk solids.

A dollop of ghee with cooked rice and lentils is beyond comforting!