How To Make Ghee From Unsalted Butter (Plus a Sweet Recipe)

Wondering how to make ghee from store bought butter?

Today’s post gives you the step by step guide on how to make ghee from unsalted butter you have bought from the market.

I confess to being a huge fan of ghee. It’s one treat I always feel free to indulge myself in. But the ghee was always made by my mom from the cream she collects from buttermilk.

When I got married, I started buying ghee. I noticed it never tasted close to what my mom made. Being a ghee enthusiast, I literally tried out all possible brands in the market, to no avail.

Later, I also learnt that most of the store-bought ghee is buffalo ghee. If not fully, then partially so.

And there is probably something about making ghee with your own hands. No brand could replicate that. Trust me when I say this. I am so devout to ghee.

When my little one started solids I began to add ghee to his food. I used to ask mom to make it for me every time I went to hometown. But I ran out of stock quickly and had to buy some ghee hesitantly.

Making my own butter did not seem quite possible with the packet milk I buy. Most of the packet milk we buy is homogenized, which means the fat globules have been broken down really small. So even if we buy high fat milk, it is very difficult to get butter. So I ventured my first ghee making attempt with store bought unsalted butter.

With only a little care, the process of ghee making was so easy and tasted close to the ghee my mom made. From then on, I always make ghee at home only.

Ghee can be given to babies from 6 month onwards by adding a teaspoon to their khichdis, porridges and rice. The maximum intake of ghee for a toddler or kid on an everyday basis is 2 teaspoons.

For babies and kids who are lactose intolerant, ghee is an excellent option as most of the milk solids are removed during the clarification process.

Over consumption of ghee can lead to obesity, loose motions and heart problems in children. Hence it’s advisable to give ghee in moderation to children.

How to make ghee from unsalted butter – Step by step guide:

Here is the recipe, without any further delay.

The requirements are simple – store bought butter and a thick bottomed kadai or a good non-stick kadai.

Keep the butter at room temperature till it softens. Cut into smaller chunks.

Wash and dry the kadai and transfer the butter chunks to it. Heat butter on medium till it melts.

 

Once the entire butter is converted to a liquid form, reduce the heat to minimum. A foamy layer would be formed accompanied by a spluttering sound. With time the layer would separate giving way to the thin yellow liquid beneath.

 

Watch the yellow color turning into golden brown and the reduction in bubbles and sound. When the spluttering sound stops completely, switch off the flame.

 

The milk solids which are settle at the top and bottom of kadai have to be filtered out using a siever, cloth filter or layered cheese cloth. Transfer the liquid into a clean dry glass or stainless steel container.

 

Once cooled, it will turn into yellow creamy texture.

Sweet recipe from the filtered milk solids:

Here’s the treat, as promised.

Do not throw away the filtered milk solids.

Rub some atta or sathu maavu into the filter to scrub the milk solids. Drop it into the kadai you just used. Add some more flour into the kadai and scrub it such that all the greasy leftover is mixed with the flour.

Once the atta mixture is well roasted, add a generous amount of sugar and mix it well. Sautee this in low flame for half a minute until  a grainy texture is formed. You can give this sweet as it is or make balls out of it.

You have just made yourself a heavenly treat. It’s one of the treats my mom allowed me as a kid. It’s one of the treats I have now started allowing my two year old to have. After all, you may not be making this more often than once a month.

It’s also a great way to clean the kadai which will otherwise be very greasy.

Must know before you make ghee at home from unsalted butter:

• Yellow butter is the cow’s butter. If the butter is white, you have bought buffalo butter.
• Always make sure you buy good quality, unsalted butter to make ghee.
• It’s important to make sure that the vessels you use while making ghee are clean and have no moisture. This will extend the shelf life of ghee.
• Use only low flame when making the ghee.
• Make an effort to stand near the ghee so that you can switch it off at the exact moment. If you switch it off early, it won’t taste as good and the moisture would not have evaporated completely. If you switch it off too late, the ghee will have an off taste.
• Making ghee should only take around twenty minutes if you are using half kg of butter.
• If you decide to parallel process, make sure you give the ghee your full attention If you are cooking anything else in parallel, make sure the crackled mustard etc does not fall into the ghee.
• The amount of ghee you get will be less than the amount of butter due to evaporation of water and filtration of milk solids.

Further reading:

• Homemade peanut butter recipe
• Homemade cerelac for babies
• Homemade hot chocolate for toddlers and kids
• Homemade paneer for babies

Hope you liked this article on how to make ghee from unsalted butter. It’s now time to enjoy the yummy sweet and delicious homemade ghee.

Do prepare at home, I am sure you are going to love them both hands down.

Do you make ghee at home or do you use store bought one?Which is that brand of ghee you trust most? Have you tried making ghee from unsalted butter? Or do you make ghee in the traditional churning method?

Share with me in comments please.