Basics ~ Homemade Ghee / Neyyi / Thuppa

Ghee happens to be an important kitchen staple in India from ancient times. It is such an essential part of life that it is used ranging from preparation of delectable and elaborate Indian sweet preparations to religious ceremonies. A baby's traditional solid food is always fed with delicious, homemade ghee. A teaspoon of ghee served with Indian meal certainly enhances its flavor. 

Majority of Indian households prepare ghee at homes since it is a part of their everyday meal. Also the quality and flavor of homemade ghee is obviously far superior compared to store brought ones. I never thought of posting about ghee preparation since I assumed that every Indian knows about it. However a recent conversation with a friend made me realize that making ghee may be a tricky one if you have never paid attention to ghee making process and may end up burning the stuff. I had promised her to post a detailed pictorial of ghee preparation and here it is. Luckily I had some good sunshine on the day I took these pictures and I could take pictures indoors, which I usually don't do.

Ghee is usually made from unsalted butter. It is melted until all the moisture is removed. However unlike butter, it can be stored at room temperature for many months. We make ghee from homemade butter at my mother's place. Here I use fatfree milk and yogurt and so don't have a chance to collect any thick cream for making butter. I buy the 4 pounds pack unsalted butter from Sam's Club and use it.
Choose a sturdy pot / non stick pan / thick bottomed vessel to prepare ghee. I go with a pound of unsalted butter each time I prepare ghee. Add the butter to the pan and start heating it on medium flame.You can heat on medium flame if you are going to stay around. Or you can use low flame from the beginning. The butter melts, the white stuff disappears and remains pale yellow colored liquid. There will be a lot of bubbling sound through this process.

Next the foam starts to form on the top. Continue to simmer until the butter becomes transparent like water. By the time, the milk solids at the bottom would have turned from white to golden brown.

When the  butter becomes clear liquid like above, turn off the stove. If you don't turn off the stove at this point, the milk solids may get burnt and you may have to trash the liquid.
Let it cool and collect the clear liquid (which is your ghee) into a container.  The solids would be usually collected stuck to the bottom of the container and is discarded.

The final product of this process, ghee in liquid form is here.

At room temperature, ghee solidifies, as shown in the first picture. When ghee needs to be used, it is just reheated until it melts. There is no harm in using solidified ghee except that you end up eating more. :)

This is going to be my Day 6 post under "Preps & Preserves" during BM#11. Check here to know what my fellow marathoners are cooking today.

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