Desi Ghee from Cream (Malai)

Born into a North Indian family, I have always enjoyed homemade ghee almost on everything like Parathas, Khichdi, Dal, Curries, Desserts and sometimes just mixed with white rice.

The store-bought stuff may not be able to provide you with such quality and also it will never match the rich taste and fresh aroma of the ancient old traditional way of making homemade ghee from malai/cream.

Homemade or desi ghee has many health benefits. It is great for skin, bones, hair and overall health. Contrary to what people think, it helps lose weight and belly fat if you consume in limit.

At my home no one likes eating malai so this is the best use of leftover malai which we get after boiling milk. Every time I make ghee, I also use the leftover water as a buttermilk and the residue of golden brown milk solids to make barfi out of it.

Many of my friends ask me how to make ghee from milk. So today I thought of explaining in a step-by-step way. I am sure this post will benefit a number of people. Why to buy it from store when we can make organic and preservative free at home?

Traditional Way of Making Ghee

My favorite memories are of the actual making of ghee. I still remember when my mom used to boil full cream milk and leaving it to cool overnight. Then in the morning she would use a slotted spoon to collect the thick cream from the top and save it in the fridge. When she had enough cream saved she would take it out of the fridge in the night. The next morning, at room temperature, she would add curd and let it sit for 4-5 hours.

After resting for 4-5 hours curd would form and it is ready to be churned. Then she adds it to the blender with some cold water (use cold water during summer and hot water during winter) and run the blender in intervals of 40-50 seconds. After some time the cultured butter starts floating on the top. Then she collects all the floating butter and keeps it in a separate bowl. After rinsing it for couple of times the butter is ready. She always reserves some butter to be served with paratha etc. and the leftover liquid is the buttermilk which can be consumed or used in making recipes.

The butter was then added to a heavy cooking pot and simmered for around 20-30minutes while stirring continuously. After about 30 minutes the foaming would subside and you would see a golden liquid with no foam.  She would then place a strainer over a stainless steel dish with a large mouth and pour the molten ghee over. This would leave a residue of golden brown milk solids in the pot.

Instant Way of Making Ghee

If you are running out of time and want to make instant version of ghee and refer this Ghee. It uses store-bought unsalted butter to make home-made ghee without much effort.