How to Make Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Ghee is 100% butter fat which is used in many oil therapies, healthy cooking and herb combinations. Ghee is salt and lactose free with 14 grams of fat per tablespoon.

Difficulty Level: Average Time Required: 1 hour 30 minutes
Here's How:

1. Melt 2 pounds of organic, unsalted butter at a very low heat.

2. Once melted, slightly increase the heat.

3. Decrease slightly if it starts to smoke or show signs of scorch. Do not let it burn.

4. Remain at this point for approximately an hour checking often but not disturbing it.

5. You will notice milk solids sinking, and foam at the top. Do not disturb this foam.

6. After an hour, let it cool approximately 15 minutes.

7. Carefully skim any remaining foam or floating substances off the top.

8. Filter the remaining clear liquid into a clean white jar. You may use cheesecloth, coffee filter or paper towel as a filter.

9. Cover and store in a cool place.

10. Use with moderation since it is 100% butterfat.
Tips:
1. Do not let it burn. Monitor the process until you get the hang of it. If you see or smell smoke or notice ripples on the surface, turn the heat down.

2. Avoid stirring while the solids are separating.

3. Use wisely, it can increase your risk of coronary artery disease.

4. Your finished product will have a rich golden color and buttery aroma. It will solidify but will not be hard.

Didnt know you were into Indian cuisine, MM. Pleasantly surprised. :)


Surprised again. Newb knows all about ghee! :eek:

Needless to say, I am pretty glad to see two foods from my part of the world popping in here.

I'm really getting in to Indian Style cooking - there is so many non-meat dishes. but I imagine my idea of real indian cooking is like V's version of Cornbeef and cabbage :-)

I love Dhaal and I love paneer dishes too.

But to drag stuff to a juvenile level the word 'Ghee' is the slag here for women's genitalia. Some where cruder than pussy but not as bad as cunt. So going into a shop and asking for Ghee is a weird thing here :-) lol

It was the same in martial arts when we were shown the 'Gi Choke' :-)

But hey lets turn this into a COOKING THREAD....

V could you be so kindas to tell be the different types of Dhal there are and the major differences...cheers..

au contraire.....newb knows Google

Had me there.


Great to hear.


Well I am no expert in our cuisine and my trips to the kitchen are only limited to brewing some hot tea or coffee or making the occasional omelette. But let me try this...

The best and most tastiest is Rahar dal (also called Tuar/Toor/Tuvar dal). Needless to say, its the most expensive too. The seeds of this lentil are about medium sized and almost completely round, and they melt and blend nicely into the preparation if they are boiled well.

http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/s...s/IMGP0012.jpg

Then comes Chana dal. Most of the Chana masala dishes are made using this. It is slightly more coarse than Tuar dal, and has a rough surface. Needs good boiling to get soft and easy to eat. Punjabis sometimes prefer to cook this lentil with its skin on, but its not advisable for those with weak stomachs or digestion.

http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/s...IMGP0013-1.jpg

A distant third is Moong dal. Inferior to both its cousins above, its much smaller in size (almost half in size to Tuar and Chana) and is almost tasteless. See this pic to have an idea of how it looks like...

http://i710.photobucket.com/albums/w...l/moongdal.jpg

The prepared dish looks like this...

http://i402.photobucket.com/albums/p...a/P1000509.jpg

It may end up being a sticky, blended mess if boiled too much. Also, there's no natural taste to moong dal so its advisable to spice it up as much as possible.

Then there's Rajma. These are big lentils, almost identically shaped like beans (kidney-shaped). Almost always cooked with its skin intact, and has great taste. You can either make a dal preparation of it, or deep-fry it with chopped onions and oil to make a splendid dish.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/m...album/P153.jpg

In addition to the above, there are plenty of pea preparations - black-eyed peas, yellow and green peas (dried), khichdi (made by mixing dal and rice together), and soups.

And so ends __V__'s cooking lesson 101. I m afraid thats all I know. I m sure Cheeba knows a lot more than me (even though he's an Aussie and I am Indian), because he's a certified cook, and has a great taste for Indian cuisine.

Forgot two other types...essentially the same dal but found in two colored types...

Black - Kala Urad dal... (black beluga lentils)

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...h/DSCN0044.jpg

and Normal colored - Biri dal... (beluga lentils)

http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/s...GP0011-1-1.jpg

Not in regular use as dals all over India, but mostly in the northern parts especially Punjab. Biri dal is often used to make pancakes after being ground into fine biri flour.


And the one MM mentioned, Masoor dal, is not a very popular choice in India. Its the red-colored lentil, and considered the most inferior in quality and taste. Rahar dal/Tuvar dal is the king, followed by Chana dal and Rajma.

Cheers mate...

Terrible you don't goto the kitchen though :-)

As my wife loves to say..."You are much better off outside of the kitchen than in it."

And thats how it has pretty much stayed from the first day of marriage.

:D

Cheers. Glad I could be of some help.

Here's a link for some info on this, Ferox :- http://hitechpulses.com/product.html

Going back to watching the Australia-England Champions Trophy Semi Final match.

One of my favourite cuisines, along with French and central European (hey there's nothing wrong with variety :D )

Cool idea Ferox!

Everything I cook is pretty simple so I don't really need a recipie to go by :)

I've got a bunch of vegetarian recipies floating about that I haven't tried yet so I'll post some up when I dig 'em out.

If your recipes are stolen/copied recipes, just add some touches of your own - that way they're less generic and you know that you've actually made "your version of", could be as simple as adding/altering one or two ingredients.
Just that I think if you're going through the effort to make something of your own, especially if it's something you might pass on to family and friends - make it 100% your own more original creations, experiment with them etc.
IMO, that's all.

Excellent advice. I cook a lot, but my specialty seems to be Italian (by frequency of guest request, anyway) I substitute cheeses a lot, especially cream cheese for ricotta, and it always goes over well with my mates. I also got one basic recipe for stuffed mushrooms, and have altered it into many different combinations and flavors.

Yeah My GF was just saying that - so theres ones I've not tried. what I'll do is make amendments and rescan the page with handwritten notes/stickers on it. I never really follow recipes 100% anyway..

I'd like a recipe
 

Now, as much as I'd appreciate the help from all, this time, ideally I'm after an answer from someone who'd had some experience making the traditional form of this recipe...I'd rather avoid anything too processed or packeted, I'm happy to put in the required effort from scratch.
If there's anyone who actually knows a thing or two about it, and doesn't have to refer me to an webpage or cut/paste info from one, I would really like to hear from you on this:

Apple Fool.

...you want us to tell you how to make this dish but without giving you the recipe? Everything I know about apple fool I've learned from websites.

There were these things called books too...
The simple explanation is - It's an old recipe - as I said, on this occasion I would prefer it from someone who's had experience making it, ideally who'd had a recipe handed down and learned it that way or at very least based upon an older more traditional recipe.
There is a difference in these things, methods change, ingredients change, substitutions are made and recipes are lost, their most original forms being handed down as opposed to resourced from random websites.
Not saying there's a problem with those, they just don't fit my purposes at this time.

Thanks for stepping in though, much appreciated.

I don't have experience making it, but I do have a collection of vintage recipe books. I can take a look for you if you like, or if you don't find someone with the particular experience you are looking for.

Had a look through our oldest cookbook and no mention of it in there. Sorry.

All good FC

That would be a bit closer to what I'm looking for, surely.
I don't mind checking that out.

Though people, my call still stands for any generational recipe if possible too.

'I pity the Apple, Fool...'

http://finickypenguin.files.wordpres...r-t_bigger.jpg

Ha! :D:D:D

Buffalo Wings
 

Recipe please, spicy isn't a problem.
Something without any, or too many packaged problems would be nice.

I mean at a guess it looks like the sauce might be made up of butter, some kind of tomato sauce, some kind of chilli(pepper) or hotsauce?
I'm sure there's more to it though.

Method would be nice too.

A lot of places around here, actually use about 80-90% hot sauce, and 10-20% butter. The more butter you add, the thicker and less spicy.

I actually have my own wing sauce. Most people don't like it though, due to the heat.

Do not add tomato sauce to it! It tastes like a spaghetti wing. And do fry them. I've smoked them before for some of the places I cook at and cater to, and a lot of them want wing sauce on the smoked wings...until they eat it. Gives it a very sour flavor.

Take one buffalo and one chicken. Add some Peter Gabriel and box wine. Make sure you do not use enough box wine to cause impotence or permanent chromosomal damage. Wait through gestation period. I suggest watching every episode of Doctor Who and playing through Final Fantasy 4-7, but hey, it's your life. Examine the litter to see which calves have the firmest juiciest wngs. Remove wings. Cook in sauce of your choosing.

Frying the wings is best, and VC has got the sauce down, but try grilling them too, its fucking delicious. Also, try seasoning them with curry powder and some cayanne pepper if you grill them, little kick in flavor, and alot in heat.

I have good luck just baking em....350 oven for about an hour or so....slopping on some Franks Hot Sauce and butter and then stick them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

Sorry...But baked, mushy wings are no good. Only way to bake them, is to make them really crispy.

Yeah, grilled wings are great. And yes, adding additional peppers/spices is good. Just depends on what you want it to taste like, and how hot. I like mine in the nose-bleed level of heat, so any additional peppers are great...Minus chipotle. Also gives for the bitter/sour flavor.

not "mushy" at all....that's why I put them back in after coating them...nice and crisp.....and less fattening then deep frying them.

If it's due to HIGH heat, I'd give it a go.

I would probably like to grille the wings, crispy.

I use Franks Red hot as well, never had a problem, Frank's also make an Extra Hot- if spicy is really your thing I would strongly recommend it. Keep the fatty side up and crank the heat for the last 20 minutes in the oven. Well, that's how I do em' anyway.

I also really like Parmesan sprinkled after the sauce. It bakes hard and adds texture and flavor.

Now see, if you had said that, that makes a difference. I've gotten wings from restaurants before that were baked, and truth be told, a few of them were not fully cooked...Kind of turned me away from those.

I could give you the recipe, but at that point, well...You'd be sleeping with the fishes. ;)

I'm working on getting the exact measurements of ingredients, so that I can get it bottled, and add it to our product line. When I get it done, if anyone wants a bottle of it, let me know.

Chrisped with Hot sauce, god I love hot sauce.

http://jesskoh.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/14074l1.jpg

Me and a couple of friends call this the Cock Sauce, because of the rooster, and how hard it is to actually figure out how to say the damn name right. But yeah, I like to mix this with some Franks Red Hot, Heat from the cock sauce, and flavor from franks. Along with a little bit of garlic infused olive oil along with the butter.

That stuff is really good. Unfortunately, I have been unable to find a store anywhere near me that sells it.

Loooooooooooooooooooove Frank's Red Hot sauce. Classic. Quality. Delicious. Easy.

I bake them instead of frying them. They're luscious, not gooey, and delicious.

• Frank's Hot Sauce bottle - 12 oz. bottle to about 8 to 10 tablespoons of butter (or 3 parts Frank's RedHot Original and 2 parts melted butter) - I'll add some Tobasco, too because I like hot hot HOT
• Melt the butter and hot sauce together for your sauce.
• Lay the wings out on a cookie sheet (lined with foil).
• Brush them with a little sauce; be sure to put some sauce in a small bowl and do not brush directly out of the pot to avoid raw chicken contamination
• Bake 25 minutes, turn them over, brush again with the sauce, and bake another 25 minutes or so.
• Put in bowl and pour remaining sauce from pot over wings.

Homemade blue cheese:

• Blue cheese
• Sour cream
• Mayo
• Tabasco
• Lemon juice

I need to find the measurements - I'll dig them up for you. :)



Looooooooooooove this stuff too - Good call to mix into the buffalo sauce. Good flavor. We keep TONS of it around the apartment and put it on pretty much... Everything.

I steam my wings first, then pat them dry, dredge in flour and fry in high heat until crispy, then toss in the sauce which I make with tobasco and butter with a touch or bown sugar.

Sriracha huh? I cook with it @ work and home. I've heard pronounced.....Sir..ah..chee. That was from the guy who sold it to me @ the asian market.

We have "boneless wings" at my house...I cut boneless chicken breasts into strips, cook them nice and crispy, then drown them in this:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg
and put them in the oven under the broiler for a few minutes until the sauce is soaked in good

Yeah, well.... I get mine from walmart. No asians there. I still like calling it the cock sauce.

Chrono dear, I <3 you a little more now.

Highjacking this thread for a Red Velvet Cake recipe. I would just grab one from google but I'm hoping someone here who likes baking and is maybe southern or something would have a tested and loved recipe for me to use for my first attempt. Is it just a chocolate cake from scratch with a whole thing of red food colouring in it, and then cream cheese frosting?