Ghee

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is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger.
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You can find my ghee recipe in this post.

We know the special clarified butter from Indian and Pakistani cuisine.

Indian butterfat simply made by yourself 🙂 this recipe conveys that.

For the relevant work steps you will find individual pictures for your successful preparation.

You need fresh butter, a pot, a stove and a hair strainer, optionally filter paper.

I wish you good luck!

1. Recipe Ghee

Follow the simple steps for a good result!

After the step-by-step recipe you will find suitable application examples and answers to the most frequently asked questions.

You can send me cooking questions and nice kitchen gossip via the comment function at the bottom of the page.

Ghee

Prepared, photographed and written down by chef Thomas Sixt

Servings 4
Calories 394
Total Time 60 Min.
Preparation Time 5 Min.
Cook Time 55 Min.

Simple instructions for preparing butterfat according to Ayurveda.

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Ghee recipe image
Ghee Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

Ingredients

125 g butter
126 g butter

Instruction

Butter for ghee – clarified butter in a pot
Butter for ghee – clarified butter in a pot

Prepare butter

Prepare a clean and dry pot.

I wash my copper pot with vinegar and hot water beforehand.

Unwrap the butter and place in the saucepan.

According to personal taste you can add some Indian ghee spices

cooking butter
Boil butter for ghee and clarified butter

cooking butter

Heat the butter on the stove over medium-high heat.

With 12 levels of the hotplate, the correct levels would be 5-6.

If everything is going right, the butter will bubble gently and the protein white will slowly settle to the surface.

The protein becomes visible as yellow-whitish clouds.

Eliminate egg white foam when cooking ghee
Eliminate egg white foam when cooking ghee

lose protein

Carefully remove the butter-protein white with a tablespoon or slotted spoon.

Keep as much butter in the pan as possible.

Ghee in the pot
Ghee in pot before filtering

Boil gently

Let the butter continue to cook gently.

Do not increase the temperature too much or you will end up with nut butter .

The cooking time is up to 45 minutes, the water contained should then have evaporated.

Filter butterfat
Filter the butterfat. Use filter paper!

filter butter

Now pass the butterfat through a filter paper and a sieve and filter it with it.

Ghee recipe image
Ghee Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

ghee

The ghee is ready.

Ghee recipe image
Ghee Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

bottling

Disinfect suitable glasses and lids with vinegar and dry in the oven at 80° C for 15 minutes.

Pour in the pure butterfat and leave to cool.

Open the dry lid after it has cooled down.

Store the butterfat in a cool place or in the refrigerator.

Clarified butter / clarified butter - nut butter - ghee
Clarified butter / clarified butter – nut butter – ghee

Subject assignment

In the picture you can find it from the left…

–> Clarified butter

–> Nut butter

–> Ghee

photographed together from above in daylight.

Clarified butter and ghee hardly differ in color.

Due to the long cooking time, ghee tastes even sweeter than clarified butter.

Video

I noted 2 x 125 g = 250 g butter in the ingredients because Google thinks a recipe should always have more than one ingredient.

Maybe John Müller is reading and can fix this.

2. Nutrition Facts And Calories

The ghee calories are calculated precisely and clearly in the table below.

From the basis of 250 g fresh butter you cook about 150-180 g Indian butterfat.

3. Make Ghee Yourself

Ayurveda butterfat that you prepare yourself is inexpensive and quick to make.

You can make custom butter cooking exciting by adding spices.

Indian Ghee Spices:

In India and Nepal I got to know the preparation of clarified butter with spices.

You can add a bay leaf, a little cumin, cloves, fresh ginger, turmeric peppercorns or chilies to melt the butter right away.

Please do not crush the ingredients in a mortar, as the taste would become too strong.

In the following pictures I photographed ground cumin.

Whole seeds are better, please add the ground spice very little and at the end.

Peppercorns black
Peppercorns black
Dried chili
Dried chili
cloves spice
cloves spice
dried bay leaves
dried bay leaves
Sliced turmeric or turmeric ingredient
Turmeric
ground cumin
ground cumin
ginger fresh
ginger fresh

Arabian Butterfat Spices:

In Arabic countries, the butterfat is prepared with thyme, rosemary or oregano.

This creates a particularly pleasant-tasting herbal fat.

It has a much finer taste than our popular herb butter.

thyme fresh
thyme fresh
rosemary fresh
rosemary fresh

What to look for when cooking ghee:

The cooking temperature is crucial and important for success.

If the temperature is too low, prepare clarified butter or clarified butter.

If the temperature is too high when cooking the butter, you roast the protein it contains and nut butter is formed.

The butter should just bubble and simmer gently.

Expect 30-50 minutes cooking time.

In Nepal we slowly cooked the butterfat over the fire for 1.5 hours in the evening.

The longer the butter cooks, the better your Ayurveda fat will be.

Ghee is heat-stable, healthy fat:

Your plain butterfat, clarified butter, and browned butter are heat stable.

Roasting and sautéing is recommended in the range up to 200°C.

Properly prepared, the whey, water and proteins contained in the butter are removed.

Therefore, the pure butterfat can withstand higher temperatures without burning.

Ghee in the pot
Ghee in pot before filtering
Ghee recipe image
Ghee Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt

4. Ghee Flavor

Ghee tastes like butter, slightly nutty, very sweet.

You can use the fine butterfat to fry fish, seafood and meat.

Chicken harmonizes particularly well with the sweetish fat.

From the point of view of Indian cuisine, however, the butterfat is not an exclusive ingredient for frying.

You can season rice and vegetable dishes with the sweet butterfat.

This often happens after preparation when tasting.

My spice tip:

You could use the fine special fat in your kitchen like a spice.

Note another aspect when seasoning food:

–> Nut butter is browned clarified butter, tastes earthy and nutty.

–> Clarified butter already tastes sweet.

–> Ghee tastes even sweeter than clarified butter due to the long cooking time

You only need 1/3 pure butterfat compared to butter to create a good taste.

I only use seasoned butterfat for Indian dishes.

I use the butterfat without spices in small quantities instead of butter for a wide variety of dishes.

A well-cooked basmati rice refined with ghee is an absolute dream.

Once you’ve tried it, you’ll want to eat it again.

Carefully prepared Ayurveda butterfat is more digestible than fresh butter and is often well tolerated if there are intolerances.

5. Ghee Field Report

Ghee has a variety of positive effects on the body and can provide relief for various ailments.

The anti-inflammatory and detoxifying potential of ghee helps improve psoriasis, among other things.

Also applied externally, the golden butterfat supports wound healing and can prevent the formation of scars.

Ghee has a calming effect on irritated and inflamed skin and promotes regeneration.

In addition, medicinal ghee is also used for drinking cures, for example to counteract arteriosclerosis.

From the Ayurvedic point of view, it is known that ghee stimulates metabolic activity and fat burning in the body.

Surprisingly, it has a cooling effect at the same time.

It has a detoxifying, restorative and strengthening effect on the body.

Furthermore, traditionally prepared Indian ghee can also be used externally to increase health.

It has a beneficial effect on the skin, soothes and supports healing.

One third of pure butterfat consists of unsaturated fatty acids, including polyunsaturated ones.

This ratio is considered particularly healthy.

Scientifically proven effect:

By the way, this is not mumbo-jumbo or an esoteric story!

You can find the relevant study on the effects of ghee here .

Ghee recipe image
Ghee Recipe Image © Thomas Sixt
Clarified butter / clarified butter - nut butter - ghee
Clarified butter – Nut butter – Ghee

6. Drink Ghee In the Morning

Treat yourself to this healthy breakfast and start the day full of energy!

Supplement your black tea or green tea with a teaspoon to a tablespoon of butterfat.

Dissolved in tea, it is a variation of butter tea.

Another trend is butterfat in coffee:

Bulletproof coffee has developed into a real trend and is also very popular in our part of the world.

The special thing about this coffee is its unique combination of caffeine and high-quality fatty acids.

The combination of energy boosts wakes you up and improves your ability to concentrate.

Many use the butter coffee as a quick and easy alternative to breakfast and benefit from the positive effects of intermittent fasting.

If you are also looking for a refreshing and energetic alternative to the classic breakfast, you should definitely try the Bulletproof Coffee!

Alternatively, you can also take ghee directly.

Ayurvedic ghee and tea
Ayurvedic ghee and tea
ghee tea
Tea with ghee for a healthy morning routine.

7. FAQ About Ghee

I have summarized the most frequently asked questions about healthy fat for you below.

Is Indian butterfat suitable for baking?

Yes, use 20% less instead of the specified butter.

How does Indian butterfat taste, can you describe the ghee taste?

The long-cooked butterfat tastes sweeter than clarified butter and caresses the palate.

Can I prepare clarified butter in my Thermomix?

You need a temperature just at 100 ° C without stirring. For this reason, I recommend you to prepare in a pot.

How long do I need to cook ghee?

Let the butterfat cook for a long time, 30-50 minutes, so that it can develop its special flavor.

What is the shelf life of ghee?

The pure butterfat has a very long shelf life if prepared and bottled hygienically and stored cold.

In Nepal, I tasted ayurvedic butterfat aged for 15 years and it tasted extraordinary.

What do I look for when bottling ghee?

  • Disinfect jars and lids, possibly rubbers with vinegar.
  • Dry the jars and lids in the oven at 80° C.
  • Pour the butterfat into the jars and do not close them.
  • Let the butterfat cool standing up in the kitchen.
  • Then screw on the lid and refrigerate.

Can ghee mold?

If you pour the butterfat into jars hot or lukewarm and screw the lid on right away, condensation can form, which can lead to mold.

Unclean jars or removal with unclean spoons can also lead to mold.

Why is butterfat used in medicine?

Especially matured butterfat is used in India for wound care.

The butterfat has a detoxifying, restorative and strengthening effect on the body

What effect does pure butterfat have when applied to the skin?

The butterfat refreshes the complexion and acts against inflammation.

8. More Indian recipes

Comments, Cooking Questions and Answers

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