Ghee has a significant place in Ayurveda. There is a traditional practice in many Indian households when babies are introduced to solid food. Babies are fed cooked rice with ghee as the first meal. It is a very versatile ingredient and can be used in sweet as well as savory dishes. Add a dash of ghee to enhance the flavor of any dish and increase its nutritive value.  

Making ghee at home is extremely simple and cost effective. The aroma of fresh homemade ghee is unmatched. Perfectly slow cooked ghee has a grainy, sand like texture at room temperature.

Ingredients

Unsalted Butter – 400 g

Yield
~320 g

Prep time
–

Cook time
25 mins

Method

1)   Melt butter in a deep pan on low heat. 

2)   Stir the melted butter once every 2 or 3 mins. Allow it to boil on low heat constantly. 

3)   Once the butter melts completely, it will start to froth and splutter mildly. Don’t worry about the spluttering. This is because of the negligible amount of salt present in most store bought butter (even though the packaging says unsalted). This doesn’t happen when we make ghee from home made butter.

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4)   After a few minutes of spluttering the froth clears and small bubbles appear on the surface. At this stage small grainy milk solids start to deposit at the bottom of the pan. Allow it to boil further, stirring every now and then.

5)   Keep checking the colour of the grainy solids that deposit at the bottom of the pan. When you see the particles becoming mild brown in colour, switch off the heat. 

6)   Let the pan sit on the stove for 3 to 4 mins more after the heat is switched off. Wait until the bubbling stops completely. By now the particles deposited at the bottom will change into a golden brown colour. 

7)   Now remove the pan from the stove and filter the ghee through a strainer to remove the brown particles (milk solids). Store in a clean dry glass/stainless steel container at room temperature. Allow it to cool completely. (See Note 4)

Notes

1. Use a fairly deep pan to make ghee. If a shallow pan is used, when the melted butter starts to splutter mildly (this does not happen always), there is a chance that the stove top might become dirty and also it might splatter on the hand while trying to stir.
2. Stirring the butter in-between is necessary, otherwise the milk solids that settle at the bottom of the pan might char and alter the smell of the ghee. 
3. Adding a few curry leaves or moringa leaves just before switching off the heat gives a unique flavor. This flavored ghee can be used in many savory dishes like rotis, parathas, mixed rice, plain rice, upma, kichadi, venn pongal and many more.
4. After cooking, strain your ghee into the container in which you will store it. Allow it to set at room temperature for 24 to 36 hrs. The set ghee should have a grainy texture, which you won’t see if you refrigerate before it sets. This texture is not really important for the taste or shelf-life but it is the only indicator that you have made your ghee correctly. Undercooked ghee will never get this grainy texture and overcooked ghee will have dark grains and give off a burnt smell. Once you see that your ghee has set correctly, you can go ahead and refrigerate if you wish. You will lose the grains but that’s okay.
5. Stored at room temperature, ghee stays fresh for 3-5 months. If refrigerated, it stays fresh for nearly a year.
6. The golden coloured milk solids strained out at the end are also edible. Mix a couple of tbsps of almond flour, some freshly grated coconut, some sugar and a pinch of cardamom to this milk solids and enjoy it as a yummy snack!

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Hung yoghurt is very easy to make at home and has numerous uses. Generally it is not available in supermarkets. This delicious hung yoghurt can be used to make your gravies rich and creamy, to make some Indian sweets, in raithas, kebabs, spread for sandwiches, as a dip and so on. 

Ingredients

Full cream plain yoghurt – 1 cup

Clean cotton kitchen towel – 1 foot by 1 foot square cloth

A wide bowl

Yield
Half a cup

Prep time
4 to 5 hours or overnight

Method

1)   Take one cup of full cream yoghurt in the cotton cloth. Tie the diagonally opposite ends of the cloth. Hang the cloth from any suspended hook with the knotted ends together.

2)   Keep a wide bowl underneath  this suspension to collect the excess water that drips slowly. Leave it suspended like this for at least 4 to 5 hours or preferably overnight.  

3)   The next day remove the cloth from the suspension and place it on a plate. Now remove the knots and you will have extremely smooth, silky and creamy hung yoghurt. This can be used in gravies, to make some Indian sweets, kebabs, raithas, as a spread for your sandwich or even as a dip.

Notes

1. Do not make hung yoghurt using low fat or skimmed yoghurt. Full cream yoghurt only gives nice and creamy hung yoghurt. 
2. This hung yoghurt should be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated. Once refrigerated it can be used for upto 4 to 5 days. 
3. If you are living in a warm place or if you are making this in summer then better to place the yoghurt in a strainer on top of a bowl and leave it in the fridge. If left outside the refrigerator overnight there are chances your hung yoghurt will turn sour.  

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