Recipe

Homemade Seasoned Ghee

Accompanying article: Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Makes about 2 cups

To make ghee even more delicious, I season it with spices that enhance its flavor and medicinal properties. For example, all the spices used below support digestion. When cooked into the ghee, their transit time in the gut is lengthened and this makes their biologically active substances more bioavailable.

I keep a small covered container of ghee right next to my stove ready for use. Seasoned ghee wonderfully colors—but doesn't overpower—a dishes' own flavor. It's a great convenience to have a rich meld of flavored ghee with one scoop versus having to open different containers for individual portions of various spices.

To double or treble this recipe, increase the cooking time and determine when the ghee is done by the characteristics detailed below. Please read the accompanying article that details the importance of using cultured and unsalted organic butter.

I vary the spices from batch to batch, using more warming spices like cloves in the winter but not the summer. Try the spice combination below and thereafter freely improvise according to your own taste preference. For “dessert” ghee, see last Variation below.

1 pound cultured, unsalted organic butter
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper corns
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 cinnamon stick piece, about 1" long
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (preferably whole seed)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg or mace

Place the butter and seasoning agents in a heavy quart saucepan and melt butter over medium heat, do not cover the pot. When the butter starts foaming, reduce the heat and simmer uncovered and undisturbed for about 15 to 30 minutes, depending upon the heat and weight of the saucepan. As its water content vaporizes, it will foam and you’ll hear tiny, sharp crackling noises. The ghee is ready when it:

  • Changes from a cloudy yellow to clear golden color
  • Develops a popcorn-like aroma
  • Stops foaming and making crackling noises
  • Develops a thin, light tan, crust on the nearly motionless surface
  • The milk solids at the bottom turn from white to tan

Keep a close watch on the ghee and remove from the heat when done. (If overcooked, it browns and starts foaming.)  Let cool until it is just warm.

Pour through a fine sieve or through several layers of cheesecloth into a clean, dry glass storage jar. Discard he strained out solids. When the ghee is completely cool, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 4 months.

Variations: 

Oven-made Seasoned Ghee
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the butter in a 1½ to 2 quart casserole or oven-proof pot. Place the butter in the oven without a lid and allow it to clarify, undisturbed, for 1 hour. As it boils and foams the water content vaporizes and if you open the oven you'll hear tiny, sharp crackling noises. The ghee is ready as detailed above.

“Dessert” Ghee
I also keep on hand a “dessert” ghee (versus savory ghee) for use in fruit dishes, pudding and baked goods. I make this by following the seasoned ghee recipe above but by eliminating the ingredients used primarily in savory dishes (bay, black pepper, cumin, garlic and onions). I use any combination of the spices that I enjoy in desserts, such as cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, mace, nutmeg and star anise.

May you be well nourished,

Rebecca Wood