Homemade ghee | clarified butter

Delicious amber goodness that is homemade ghee!! Ghee (or clarified butter) is so much cheaper to make than buying it. Ghee is made from butter which has been left to simmer to a point at which the milk solids brown and separate. The liquid is then strained, leaving the milk solids behind. Ghee is rich in vitamins and antioxidants - also making it healthy to use and to cook with. 

A 1kg tin of Amul ghee here costs close to 20 euros sometimes. This 500g homemade batch cost me around 4 euros. So less than half the price! Use in countless Indian dishes, spread on chapatis, parathas, use in halwa / sweets. It will give a delicious nutty depth of flavour. As you get rid of all the milk solids it will keep for at least a year as it won’t go rancid. It will solidify (esp. here in NL) as it’s not warm enough at room temperature to keep it liquidy! 

Ingredients for 500g ghee

625g full fat unsalted butter 

I have found that 625g of ghee will give me 500g of ghee, which is perfect for a 500g mason jar that I have. This means that 80% of the initial butter will transform into delicious ghee, whilst the remaining 20% is the milk solids and water which has evaporated. However, the amount of ghee which you get will depend on the quality of your butter! Choose good quality butter which will give you a good amount of ghee!

Method 
Time - 20 minutes 

1. Add 625g of butter to pan.

2. Turn the heat to low and let the butter melt. Keep the heat to low the whole time - this will prevent it from burning and it will allow the nutty flavour of the ghee to develop. 

3. The butter will become frothy and start to bubble. Stir occasionally to prevent it from burning. 

4. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes and the froth will disappear. 

5. The froth will start to reduce even more and then the milk solids will starts to sink to the bottom

6. Keep simmering, stirring occasionally. The mixture will start to darken and it will develop an amazing nutty flavour. 

7. When the mixture is a dark brown colour and the milk solids have browned on the bottom, turn of the heat and remove any excess scum which will have developed (if you want). This won't have any ilk solids in it, but I just like to remove it. 

8. The ghee is ready to be strained when it is a dark brown colour, has a nutty smell, and when the milk solids have browned on the bottom.

9. Strain the mixture using a fine strainer into sterilised glass jar. (My tea strainer was fine enough). Make sure that no milk solids end up in the jar / final product, otherwise it will go rancid. 

10. The ghee is ready to be used! Close the jar when the ghee is hot, then it will seal and you can keep it in a cool dry place or cupboard for up to a year if you don't plan on using it straightaway.