Ghee

Ghee is a kind of rendered clarified butter from which water and milk solids have been completely removed, leaving pure golden milk fat. It is one of the cornerstone fats of Indian and South Asian cuisine, and of Ayurveda, where it has been prized for millennia.

Ghee is made by slowly melting butter and cooking it longer than ordinary clarified butter: the milk solids settle and slightly caramelise at the bottom, giving ghee its characteristic nutty, lightly toasted aroma and golden colour, after which the pure fat is strained. The main advantages of ghee are its high smoke point (about 250 °C), which makes it ideal for frying and deep-frying without scorching or forming harmful substances, and its long keeping time without refrigeration (since without water or solids it has nothing to spoil). Ghee contains only negligible amounts of lactose, so it usually suits people with lactose intolerance. With it one fries, braises, dresses rice, dal, and vegetables, adds it to dough, and drizzles it over finished dishes for aroma. Ghee gives dishes a deep, rich flavour. It is an ancient, wholesome, and exceptionally versatile cooking fat.