Heavenly Homemade Ghee....

Ghee is the Indian version of clarified butter. It is a key ingredient in all the Indian sweets since it adds an exquisite flavor to the dish. It is considered to be sacred in the Hindu tradition and is till date used in all the offerings made to god and in yagnas as fuel. It was used for its healing abilities in olden days. It is also known for its moisturising quality. Ghee is made with full fat butter these days, but in earlier times the cream of milk was collected for many days and churned to get pure butter and later melted to make ghee. In many places ghee is used as a substitute for oil as it add richness to the dish and enhances flavour. In the past ghee was used widely on a daily basis, but now as people have become more health conscious, ghee has become an ingredient only for special occasions.

This week being janmashtami we are sharing Lord Krishna's favorite snack the heavenly homemade ghee recipe from our kitchen. The main reason we started making ghee at home is because the ghee we get here (abroad) is not as flavorful as desi ghee and the desi ghee from Indian supermarkets is overpriced or mostly out of stock. So the best way was to make our own ghee at home, fresh and full of flavor.

The procedure is as follows:

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter blocks

Pinch of salt-optional

Method:

1. Cut the butter blocks into smaller blocks.

2. Add these butter blocks into a thick bottomed pan and cook on low heat. Let the butter melt  completely.

3. Once it has melted you can see fat separating in the form of foam which appears on the surface and you can hear popping sounds.

4. Slowly remove the foam with a spoon and discard.

5. Gradually you can see the foaming has reduced and the colour of the ghee turns golden brown. You can also tell from the aroma of the ghee.

6. Filter this into a container. You can see brown solids which can be discarded
Your ghee is ready.

We have used RoomBoter, you could also use Organic valley Cultured butter or Kirkland unsalted butter (available in stores).

Tips:

1.Using a thick bottomed pan prevents the butter from burning.

2. Adding a pinch of salt will give a nice flavour.

3. Ghee can be used as moisturizer on chapped lips or dry hair.

4. You can store ghee in the refrigerator or if it is winter/you live in a cold country you can leave it in room temperature to solidify.

Krishna Janmashtami or Gokulashtami is the celebration of the birth of Hindu deity Lord Krishna.This festival  is celebrated all over India with different names and in different ways based on the region and beliefs. Kids are dressed up as krishna and their footprints of rice flour batter are marked from the doorway to the place where all the sweets are placed, to indicate that krishna has come to their house. Houses are decorated and lots of sweets and snacks are prepared to be offered to Lord Krishna and later distributed as prasadam.

 It is believed that little Krishna loved butter and stole butter when he was a kid, so fresh butter and milk products are main offerings on this day. This year we made him happy with his favorite dish, what about you???

Happy Churning !!!!