The Ultimate Guide To Ghee

A properly made Indian curry, whether cooked in a restaurant or at home, will nearly always have a distinct and easily recognizable fragrance: warm, wholesome, and cozy, hiding beneath the sweet aroma of spices and the earthy scents of onions and garlic. That fragrance is the smell of hot ghee, and it's an essential part of the many cuisines of South Asia. Per Britannica, ghee is so important in the Indian subcontinent that the only foodstuffs more widely eaten there are rice and wheat. Ghee, as in a form of clarified butter, is commonly made from either buffalo milk or cow milk, the latter of which is not only a valued cooking ingredient but also holds important religious significance among Hindus.

Ghee has seen renewed popularity, spurred by what the BBC calls a "return-to-basics movement in India." Food author Kalyan Karmakar told BBC that this revolves around people being "more mindful about their food" and favoring a slower, homemade pace. Butter has been maligned for being rich in saturated fats and ghee contains slightly higher amounts, according to Healthline. 

Despite that, India has once again given ghee a place in c. After all, people have been making and using ghee in South Asia for thousands of years. Some have even called it "liquid gold." As such a time-honored cooking ingredient, there's a lot to know about this distinctly cultural and culinary staple.

Ghee is an ideal cooking fat, particularly for frying, because it has an exceptionally high smoke point. The smoke point when cooking with ghee is a blisteringly hot 485 degrees. This is not only well above most other commonly available cooking oils, but it's above even the highest frying temperature of around 450 degrees, per The Chopping Block. By comparison, regular butter will start to smoke and burn above around 350 degrees. In other words, even on high heat, cooking with ghee won't fill your kitchen with smoke, even with the hottest frying pan.

While ghee can be used as a cooking fat in any kind of cuisine, it's particularly well suited to the complex flavors of Indian cooking with all of its fragrant spices. Preparing South Asian cuisine usually starts with the spices being tempered by frying them in a hot pan. Ghee is perfect for this, filling the air with mouthwatering aromas even when the actual cooking has only just begun. As The Hindu mentions, this scent of hot ghee and sautéed spices is a nostalgia-inducing aroma for lots of people from South Asia because tempering spices this way is an essential step in preparing many authentic Indian recipes and a key part of bringing out their full flavor in the finished dish.

The characteristic aroma of any good Indian curry will carry the sweet, warm fragrance of ghee. And South Asia is home to a huge variety of curries, which can vary a lot depending on their location. From an outside perspective, it may be easy to think of all Indian food as being very similar, but the cuisines from the different regions of India are quite distinct from each other, as Caleidoscope explains in detail. Ghee, however, is essentially a universal ingredient for South Asian cooking, though there are dishes in which the flavor of ghee is particularly prominent. One well-known example is murgh makhani, better known in the English-speaking world as butter chicken. A rich and creamy dish, drenched with flavor, butter chicken can be made with regular butter, but will taste even better with the deeper flavors imparted by ghee.

Many Indian curries are served not with rice but with flatbread (although rice is still a popular side dish). Perhaps the best-known bread in South Asia is naan, although as Indian Express notes, naan likely originated in Persia. All the same, a freshly cooked fluffy naan is a traditional accompaniment to Indian curries, and hot naan is often also brushed with ghee for added flavor.

Ghee may be a beloved and central part of Indian cooking, but it can also be found in cuisines across Africa. According to The African Gourmet, it's used frequently in Maghrebi countries like Algeria and Morocco, as well as sub-Saharan countries like South Africa. African cultures often have their own traditional versions of ghee, as noted in a study published by the Italian Journal of Animal Science, with a number of variants like Egyptian semna and Ugandan samuli.

Some African versions of ghee are also prepared differently to Indian ghee, and may also include other ingredients like spices. One prominent example is niter kibbeh, which gives a characteristic aroma and richness to Ethiopian cuisine. As African Food Network describes, niter kibbeh shares the high smoke point and long shelf life of ghee but is infused with the flavors of herbs and spices during preparation. Two of its key ingredients are besobela and kosseret, a couple of uniquely Ethiopian herbs which, sadly, may be difficult to find elsewhere in the world, according to African Food Network. Even without these, niter kibbeh still carries the rich flavors of cardamom, cinnamon, and black peppercorns, among other spices. The densely flavored stews and curries that Ethiopia is famous for wouldn't taste quite the same without it.

Traditionally, ghee is made at home. The Hindu explains the traditional method starts with fresh, unpasteurized milk that is boiled, cultured into yogurt, churned, and then heated to separate the milk solids. While the ghee is prepared, the milk solids sink to the bottom and start to brown and caramelize, which is part of what gives ghee its distinctive flavor and aroma. As the BBC says, churning is now often done with a blender. The method also produces buttermilk, which is a valuable cooking ingredient in its own right. 

An easier homemade ghee recipe starts with regular butter and clarifying it by heating in much the same way. The key is to evaporate away any excess water, and the final ghee should be a bright sunshine-yellow color. A small batch of ghee doesn't take long to prepare on a stovetop, though care must be taken to prevent burning.

Of course, ghee can easily be bought (even A2 ghee is popping up in stores) and shouldn't be hard to find — and not just places selling South Asian or North African groceries. Homemade ghee, however, is widely considered to have a better flavor. According to Goya, this is because the industrial manufacture of ghee requires standardization. This means the same flavor can be produced consistently, but this comes at the cost of the more subtle notes, which make homemade ghee so flavorful.

Saturated fats have a poor reputation where health goes, and with good reason. According to Medline Plus, saturated fats and trans fats, when consumed in excess, can cause a buildup of cholesterol in blood vessels, leading to health concerns like heart disease. Ghee is rich in saturated fats, so it's best consumed in moderation. However, ghee does also have a few things going for it. 

WebMD notes that ghee is rich in monounsaturated omega-3 oils, which can actually support good cardiovascular health. This includes the fact that, as part of a balanced diet, WebMD finds that ghee can help to reduce cholesterol levels in the body. Ghee is an excellent source of nutrition: It contains vitamin A, which helps eyesight and the immune system, as well as the antioxidant vitamin E, and vitamin K, which helps promote healthy bones. Fittingly for a sunshine-yellow food, it's also a good source of vitamin D during the dark winter months.

Ghee has long been seen as important for health. It's long been used in traditional herbal medicines in South Asia, notably, as a salve to treat burns. One way or another, ghee has benefits other cooking fats just don't.