Ghee
Ghee is clarified butter simmered until all milk solids and water cook out and lightly brown, leaving a pure, nutty, shelf-stable fat that's central to Indian cooking.
How to buy
Look for ghee made from cultured or regular butter, with cultured versions adding a tangier depth. It should be golden amber and clear when melted, with a toasted, nutty smell; avoid any jar with a rancid or waxy odor. Many brands note whether it's made from cow or buffalo milk.
How to store
Because the milk solids and water are removed, ghee is shelf-stable at room temperature in a sealed jar for months, and refrigeration extends that further. It solidifies when cold and liquefies when warmed, without the spoilage concerns that plain butter has at room temperature.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Deeply nutty, toasted, and caramel-like from the browned milk solids strained out during making, richer and more concentrated in flavor than plain butter.
- Texture
- Solid and slightly grainy at room temperature, turning fully liquid and clear when melted, with none of the foaming or sputtering that plain butter shows in the pan since its water has already been cooked off.
- Aroma
- A toasted, nutty, faintly caramelized aroma, a direct result of browning the milk solids before straining them out.
How to prepare
- Used for frying — Its high smoke point makes it ideal for high-heat frying and for tempering whole spices (tadka).
- Drizzled — Spooned over finished rice, dal, or roti for extra richness and aroma.
- Baked with — Used in sweets and baked goods for a nutty richness that plain butter doesn't offer.
- Simmered into sweets — Cooked into dense, dark sweets like halwa and ladoo as the main fat.
Classic dishes
Indian
- Dal tadka — Lentils finished with a sizzling tempering of ghee, cumin, and chiles poured over the top.
- Biryani — Layered spiced rice cooked with ghee for richness and fragrance throughout.
- Ghee rice — Rice cooked with whole spices and a generous amount of ghee for a fragrant, mellow pilaf.
- Paratha — Layered flatbread brushed with ghee between folds for flaky richness.
- Halwa — A dense, sweet pudding, often made from semolina or carrots, enriched heavily with ghee.
- Ladoo — Rolled sweets bound together with ghee alongside flour, nuts, or lentils.
- Kheer enriched with ghee — Rice pudding finished with a spoonful of ghee for extra richness.
- Sheera — A semolina pudding toasted in ghee before being cooked with milk and sugar.
- Khichdi — A comforting rice and lentil porridge finished with a pool of melted ghee.
- Tadka for curries — Whole spices bloomed in hot ghee and poured over curries or dal for aroma.
- Roti brushed with ghee — Flatbread brushed with ghee right off the griddle for shine and flavor.
- Mysore pak — A rich, fudge-like sweet made from gram flour, sugar, and a generous amount of ghee.
- Puran poli — A sweet stuffed flatbread cooked and served with melted ghee.
- Saag finished with ghee — A mustard greens curry finished with a spoon of ghee for added richness.
- Gajar halwa — Grated carrots slow-cooked in milk and ghee into a dense, sweet dessert.
- Butter chicken finished with ghee — A tomato and cream-based curry sometimes finished with a touch of ghee for extra sheen.