D.I.Y Ghee Recipe | Clarified Butter Ghee | How to make Ghee
Over the last few years, my exposure to the food industry has made me aware of the food I consume. Various food blogs have also helped to enlighten me with what is right  and what is wrong (the latter unfortunately surpassing the former).  You see one blog with a specific recipe and immediately a "trend" of posting the same thing follows all over without any value additions. No offense meant, but the knowledge hungry me is left dissapointed and mourn the lack of info that every family out there can contribute and enhance everyone's repertoire.
D.I.Y Ghee Recipe | Clarified Butter Ghee | How to make Ghee
Fortunately, every time I post something here with my limited know how's, you, my dear readers contribute so much thereby helping me get better. This post today for pure Desi Ghee comes through years of trying to understand ancient Indian cooking practices. Ayurvedic cooking is a much sought after method meant to nourish, cleanse and purify our body. Anyone who has dabbled with it would know the importance of Ghee in Ayurveda.  Unfortunately the mismatch is that, it is not talking about the Ghee you get at the stores nor what is being made in so many households today.
D.I.Y Ghee Recipe | Clarified Butter Ghee | How to make Ghee
It talks about the ghee that comes from butter made from yogurt and not milk. I have gone the lengthy route of culturing my milk into yogurt, gathering the cream from it, beating that to make butter and then finally to ghee. This is the traditional way of doing it and this ghee is worth "pure gold" as far as nourishing your body goes. But time being the essence, I would suggest doing the next best thing - buying good quality, cultured butter (instead of sweet cream or any other type) to make this ghee.
  • Cook time:
  • Prep time:
  • Yields: Makes 1-3/4 cups though it might vary depending on the brand/quality of the butter used.
Ingredients
  • 500 grams Cultured Unsalted Butter, see Tips
Tips
1. Butter: You can use any kind of butter - Salted or Unsalted. But salted will lead to more foaming 'cos of moisture content. Traditionally ghee is made using unsalted butter. Though any brand will work to make good tasting ghee, I would suggest using Cultured Butter. Ghee made using this butter (made from yogurt instead of milk cream) is what enriches your body. The commercial Ghee/Butter is not nourishing and is not generally good for you.
Method
1. I chop the butter into small pieces to melt it faster. Its not necessary per se.
2. Take a heavy bottomed saucepan with high sides and heat it over med-low heat.  Add the butter.
3. Make sure to keep the heat medium and let it melt slowly
4. until completely melted. This is at around 5-6 minute mark.
5. Once the butter’s melted, you will find the fat separating from the milk solids.
6. It will start foaming and bubbling. This is why you need a pan with high sides to make sure there is no overflow. At this point, lower the heat. You don't want it to burn.
7. The bubbles with gradually get smaller and smaller depicting water gradually cooking off.
8. Soon there will be less bubbles and more foam. You will also find some of the solids clinging to the sides of the pan. The milk solids will start to brown.
9. You know the ghee is ready when the bubbling and foaming ceases, the milk solids turn deep brown and fall to the bottom of the pan and the Ghee itself is golden in color. The house at this point should be extremely aromatic with toasty smell. Remove from heat and let it cool.
10. Filter this into a clean container. Use layered cheese cloth, muslin cloth etc to get the clear liquid.
11. What about those browned bits, you ask? This is refereed as "Nei Kasandu" in my household and is used
12. to make a sweet recipe using some rice flour (few tbsp) and some sugar (few tsp - to taste). Mix and enjoy! You can also use wheat flour instead. If not into sweets, you can use this residue in your dhokla, chapatti/paratha, thepla, handvo etc. You can instead store it in your freezer for 2 weeks (or so) until you are ready to use.
Now, this is what Ayurveda refers to as health giving, few drops of which, in your day to day meal, provides your body with loads of benefits. Making this is simple enough (takes around 20 minutes) to avoid the commercial junk in your grocery stores. This stores well at room temperature for around 2 months. You can store in your fridge as well. If you live in cold area, at room temperature, it will solidify just like coconut oil. Simply melt it to use in your preparation or directly add it to your warm food. It will melt adding both flavor and aroma (not to talk of excellent benefits) in your dishes. D.I.Y Ghee Recipe | Clarified Butter Ghee | How to make Ghee

Recipe Reference

my kitchen notes

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51 Comments

By phill on Oct 7, 2019

While the ghee is coocking, do you constantly mix it with a spoon?

By Punam Paul on Oct 21, 2018

Now we can prepare ghee at home. Pure Desi Ghee if very good for health and wellness.

By ankit kumar on May 11, 2017

I use ghee in my diet and it really helps me to maintain good health. I feel a lot better and my skin problems are also cured by using ghee. Thanks for sharing this easy method to making ghee.

By Gale on Feb 15, 2017

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By Manju on Jan 6, 2017

My mother puts Little Rock Salt at the beginning of melting Butter and At the end adds Garlic ( 3-4 Cloves), Dry Red chilli( 1-2) , 2 Pinch of Roasted Powdered Fenugreek( Methi) and Cardamom.

By Jolana on Nov 29, 2016

Isn't this end residue just harmful fat which we want to get rid of by cooking butter to make ghee? When you use it after cooking for whatewer reason, what is the point to make Ghee? I make my ghee by very slow cooking of butter and gradually collecting the white foams to prevent them to burn on the bottom of pan later. What you will see when it's separated from crystal clear yellow butter ghee is just thick unhealthy fat which would sit in your veins if you consumed regular butter. So it absolutely does'nt have any sense to consume it. Since I use ghee in my cooking, my cholesterol levels went halfway down from where I was before. My doctor was pleased with this result.

By Anu on Aug 29, 2016

I was reading on an Ayurveda page that if the ghee browns and has a nutty taste that the ghee is burned.

By Cecil Knutson on Mar 23, 2016

You may be interested in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr. Weston A. Price. Dr. Price circumnavigated the globe examining the teeth of the people he met, analyzing their saliva and foods. Reading the book will instruct one in a diet that will prevent dental caries. One will also learn many things about teeth that are commonly unknown. I found it invaluable and a shame that it wasn't until I was over 50 that I found it. Dr. Price also thoroughly researched the consequences of root canals and reported his findings in a set of books that is available from price-pottenger.org. Many people would be healthier with the information provided in these books.

By Odette on Feb 27, 2016

Very clear instructions - easy to follow. Delighted with the outcome. Thanks

By Sandeep on Feb 17, 2016

My parents & wife have been making ghee as above for a long time since I know. We throw the residue from ghee making out. I would like to know more about what to do with that residue. Thanks.

I have mentioned it in Step 12. If you need more info, pls let me know. --DK

By moi on Jan 13, 2016

Hello, thanks for your easy to follow instructions .. I have been enjoying the benefits of my homemade ghee for several months now .. thank you !

By Sharon on Aug 12, 2015

Hi, I agree that it is not useful to just post others recipes untried. This is the first recipe for ghee that was understandable and I have cooked for most of my life. I have the ghee now what to do with it?

By swati on May 27, 2015

Hi, I want to use ghee for my hair fall & premature hair grey teatment. Can I use the same karrygold cultured butter for making ghee? Or which butter should I use for making ghee?

By DURGA on Mar 26, 2015

:) hi i usually make and use homemade ghee.can we amchur at home, HOW? please if any one kmows

By TeaPea on Feb 16, 2015

The original recipe for making Clarified butter from my MIL( since i belong to punjabi household) 1)A big Vessel of Curd 2)A motor whisk/blender which is called "madani" ( replaced the wooden hand mixer of old days) Process: step1 - fix the madani and switch it on for around 45 mins until you see pure white color butter on top (separated from whey under it) step 2- scoop out the butter carefully either by hand or proper ladle step3- put the butter in a wok and bring it to boil and keep boiling until it curdles and starts separating from oily substance step 4- strain out the oily substance which is our Clarified butter ready to use. :)

By Lavanya on Jan 18, 2015

Hi, thanks for sharing the method to prepare ghee. I also loved the sweet recipe for the residual. It came out well.

By rohitdassani on Dec 23, 2014

Didnt know making Ghee was so simple.... loved this....

By shankar narayanan on Dec 22, 2014

If you cannot get cultured butter go for "KERRY GOLD' Irish butter ( Grass fed ). Should find it in better super markets or COSTCO. in The US.

By Shreya on Nov 15, 2014

Thanks for the excellent recipe. Please suggest how to keep the GHEE in molten/liquid form. Regards Shreya [starshreyagupta@gmail.com]

By Pam on Nov 15, 2014

Followed your instructions to the T! Ghee is now cooling on the table to cool. Thank you for offering this simple recipe! I am grateful to have found it! -pam

By Pratheepa on Nov 8, 2014

hi DK, love ur website for the exceptional quality of the steps and the pictures !! Hats off To ur efforts ! I searched almost many grocery stores for cultures butter but I cudn find one. Can you tell me the name (brand) of the Butter you have used in this recipe,and I shall buy the same!! I reside in US

Thank you so much Pratheepa. I use KerryGold unsalted. This one: Chefinyou Astore--DK

By Anjali on Nov 8, 2014

Hi...what about butter made from cream collected from milk? I usually collect the cream from milk,churn it into butter and make ghee out of that butter.Would that amount to the same nutritionally?

By anju on Sep 28, 2014

Came across this after a google search. The step by step instructions and especially the pics were extremely helpful. Thanks a lot DK. Made ghee twice. Improving every time i do it. :-P

By ivy on Sep 16, 2014

Hi, Recently i came across your post, and i really liked it. Can you please tell me whether "unsalted" butter is a must to be used for making ghee from it? Last two time i prepared i got the unsalted butter (i dont remember it to be cultured or not, next time i will be getting that) , though the ghee came out to be tasty, this time i want to try as u suggest.

Traditionally Unsalted butter is used, but you can use the salted one as well. Things to keep in mind while using salted butter would be --> 1) There is lot more foaming action while making ghee, so make sure to use a large saucepan. 2) The end residue is usually not thrown away but used in other dishes; in this case make sure to adjust salt accordingly in such recipes since this ghee residue will be very salty. 3) Ghee is also used to make desserts and depending on the dessert, using this ghee might be disastrous for the end flavor. --DK

By Aabiwed on Jun 2, 2014

I love your site I just made ghee with help of your detailed site thank you so much .

By Rohit on May 24, 2014

I am a ghee lover (add it almost everything). My saying is you can even eat dirt if you add ghee to it. (Maybe add little sugar as well). Luckily gallons of ghee down me I don't put on weight. (An aspect of jealousy for my friends and family). Mom used to always make ghee this way and I love it. Prefer to extra brown it giving more nutty flavor( the smell is lingering in my house as I type). Love this post. Made it myself for the first time. Can't wait to taste it after it cools. Thanks!!

By priya on May 20, 2014

Hi DK Can you please post on how to make butter from yogurt. I searched this on Google so many times but all the recipes were butter from milk cream and not from yogurt. It would be great if you could tell us how to make butter from yogurt

Will def. do so the next time I make some. :) --DK

By Madhuri on May 18, 2014

Love your blog! Quick tip on making Ghee: my mom always adds exactly 2 curry leaves after you remove the ghee from the fire while it's still hot. It smells amazing and adds this very subtle flavor that makes it perfect! Hope you try it next time :)

By Fan Gray on May 18, 2014

I have just made this after a google search as my butter was almost out of date. Amazing! Your pictures and description of each stage made it so easy. I think I may just love you a bit! Ha Ha

I might just have blushed a bit (... a lot, in fact). Thank you :) --DK

By Bhuvaneshwari on Apr 13, 2014

Hi dhivya can u post the method to make butter at home? All my attempts have turned futile... I need this as shops here are running out of stocks of cow's butter. As of now am melting salted amul butter and filtering it to get saltless ghee.

Surest. Will do next time I do it :) --DK

By Dr Surya Narayanan on Apr 12, 2014

Hailing from a small temple town in TamilNadu called Chidambaram I always grew with fresh cow's milk and buffalo's milk door delivered to us for as long as I can remember. Being vegetarians, milk and plant proteins were the mainstay of our nutrition. My Mum has always made ghee at home. The ultra divine and yummy smell of butter melting in the kitchen and filling up the entire house and our garden with the aroma is something that words can't describe. As years have rolled on, I have travelled around the globe but my wife and I have never bought ready to use ghee from supermarkets. With carninogens and deadly chemicals being found in the most unlikely food items these days, I would say it is always healthy to eat locally grown home made healthy stuff as much as possible. Shudh Desi Ghee is one of the best ingredients of a healthy meal. The medicinal properties are innumerable. I am a doctor practicing modern medicine ( or what we think is modern) but the wholesome benefits of traditional food cannot be forgotten. Whatever your nationality or race or religion, if you start eating your traditional food at least once a week, you will be healthier. The modern day easy ( fast) food is nothing but slow poison.

By Deepa Tombat Chabbria on Apr 12, 2014

Super recipe for ghee. I live in India but even here now we just buy ghee from the store as it is just convenient. As a child I remember churning butter was a daily routine. And making ghee a weekly one. The whey which is left over after the churned butter ihas been extracted is extremely good for health and also very tasty. Our household ghee was made from that butter. White butter.

By swathi on Apr 6, 2014

Want to try it because Indian stores where we live no more carrying amul ghee and i tried other brands but they are not good to taste and doesn't have any smell. I have 1 year old and want to give him pure ghee instead of all other stuff.

By swathi on Apr 6, 2014

I bought kerrygold brand butter and its ingredient is cultured pasteurized cream. Can i use this??

Yes --DK

By Fariba on Mar 16, 2014

Thanks for your wonderful recipies I am from Iran specialy in my hometown Tabriz we make this butter oil with cultured butter for hole year it means we prepare every year from 100 kilo butter for making oil and we named Sari Yag it means yellow oil ,all the foods are from this oil and it is very delicious and the butter from ship is more aromatic than cow butter

By Neena on Mar 14, 2014

Nice blog site Divya. I would like to share a small tip for making ghee from cultured butter ie butter made from curd. for making small quantities at home, you can fill a small stainless steel coffee filter with curd, fit with the tight lid and leave it in the fridge overnight, all the water will drip and you will be left with a thick mass. Use this to make ghee.

That's a fab idea. Thank you :) --DK

By Bhavna on Feb 21, 2014

Thank for inspiring me to make ghee as my mom always makes back home in India. I take pleasure and pride to say I took a step further and bought heavy cream(without harmful carrageenan ), of course I had to make several trips to find one brand that would be like it. I cultured withy home made yogurt for 48 hrs and whipped butter out of it and then made ghee. Truly a satisfying experience!! Thank you once again. I want to share my pics. How can I do that?

Under every recipe I have a section called "I Made This". Clicking on it would take you to a form where you can upload a picture and write your feedback about the recipe. Here is the link for your easy perusal: http://chefinyou.com/i-made-this/?recipeid=4344 Would love to see your picture and yes, your way is the ideal way :). Though I have done it, I havent posted it here as yet. The taste of that ghee is nectar, isnt it? :) --DK

By Guyana15 on Feb 20, 2014

Hears to proper ghee to be made at home, rather than the shop bought English stuff, usable though that is.

By Revadi on Jan 24, 2014

Dear DK. I've been following your website for a long time. Great recipes with excellent step by step photos. I was wondering if you could mention any particular brand of butter which is made from yoghurt.. I use Lurpark and I just love it..it's mentioned that it's a cultured butter..

I wouldn't worry about the brand. As long as it says cultured butter, its good enough :) --DK

By Sumati on Jan 22, 2014

Hi, could you site me any specific reference that would explain "commercial Ghee/Butter is not nourishing and is not generally good for you" . I am particularly intereested in the not good for you part. A cursory search yielded some good pointers on the differences between butters, cultured and otherwise, but nothing so far as the claims you make. Cheers, Sumati

Just search for why "cultured butter " is good for you and u might find the ill effects of the ones without. This knowledge has been due to research I have been doing for years and I do not have a link on top of my head. --DK

By Hari Chandana on Jan 19, 2014

Very well explained.. thanks for sharing!!

By Hussaina on Jan 13, 2014

I love your blog - you very intelligently introduce a right kind of thinking into preparation of food. Great and thank you!

By CH on Jan 9, 2014

Just ran to one of our local, what I like to call, "hippy grocery stores". Sure enough, they sell cultured butter! the brand I found was KerryGold from Ireland. It made some awesome ghee! It is the best smelling butter I've found since we lived in Europe 15 years ago. Please, please, please continue your posts! I try all your recipes. they have all been terrific!

By CH on Jan 9, 2014

Please share how to make cultured butter! I LOVE the idea of fresh and healthy living and eating. I grew up on a "hobby farm" where we grew our own food. As an adult, I do not live that way anymore, but I use the same principles for feeding my family. When we eat nutritious food, there are few cravings and our bodies are healthy. Thanks so much for your posts!

Will post it the next time I make some at home :) --DK

By Bela on Jan 9, 2014

How do I make ghee from cream that I have collected over a few weeks?

Whip the cream to make it into butter and then proceed as above --DK

By Vrushali on Jan 8, 2014

Great post! I am residing outside India and making ghee from scratch is not possible as heating the milk does not give the proper thick "malai" that is required for the creamy yogurt and eventually butter and ghee. I usually follow this process back home in India. These days I am making it with unsalted butter. My butter does not say "cultured" but in ingredients it says Lactic Starters. That is the best I can get here locally. In your research have you come across this phrase? I could guess though that this is the start of the culturing process. Can you throw some light?

By Vikram Khanna on Jan 8, 2014

Hello-Thanks for your site. Just wondering what are the health benefits for this ghee? Thanks in advance...vsk

By Kavya on Jan 8, 2014

If you are living in the bay area(I'm guessing so), Can u give me info in where to get raw milk? Thanks!!

By Shanthi on Jan 8, 2014

Hi DK could you please post step by step instructions for 'how to make butter from yogurt' . Here you have used ready made butter.

Yes, I def. will do so in near future. :) --DK

By nikita on Jan 8, 2014

Also wanted to let you know I switched to whole milk recently instead of reduced fat milk. I got thinking about it when I first read about it on your blog. I also add water to the milk like you mentioned because we are not used to that rich tasting milk and ofcourse reduce calories. Thanks for providing useful info which your readers can ponder on.

B'cos of the availability, I get raw milk now where I live - milk straight from the cows without undergoing homogenizations and ultra pasteurization. I boil milk (just like my mom) and consume. As you mention already, I use the skimmed version of me and my husband and full cream for the little one. :) --DK

By nikita on Jan 8, 2014

I just made ghee from butter couple of days ago. My first time. But I did not know about cultured butter. I had no idea butter can be made from yogurt. I will look for cultured butter next time.

Just look for a brand that says "cultured butter" in its ingredients. It means that this butter has been made from yogurt cream instead of milk cream. --DK