Homemade ghee is a luxurious way to build flavors in a dish, allowing you to control the quality of the butter, and saving you a few grocery dollars in the process.
In a heavy bottomed pot, add butter and cook over medium-low heat at a low, gentle simmer.
As the butter melts, there will be a layer of foam that covers the surface, which you do not need to skim off. Any remaining foam with be strained off at the end.
The milk solids will start to brown and drop to the bottom. Do not walk away as the browning begins because the final cooking goes very quickly.
Cook until the butter turns a deep golden color and the milk solids are a medium brown. Remove from the heat.
Place a strainer over a heat proof bowl, line with cheesecloth or a coffee filter and strain.
Let cool slightly.
Then pour into a glass jar with a lid.
You will have about 1 1/2 cups of ghee from a pound of butter. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator. On the counter, your ghee will last about 3 months, if you still have any left by that time! Store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Before cooking:
If you want to buy ghee, besides a local Indian grocery, it can be found at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Pure Indian Foods for specialty ghee, health food stores, and very likely in your local grocery store.
If you don’t have ghee, you can make a substitute by mixing half and half mix of butter and oil, which will give you a buttery taste, but also raise the smoke point so your butter won’t burn.
Using salted butter to make ghee will create more foam when boiling, so if using in your homemade ghee, make sure that your pan is large enough to handle the increased volume.