The market · Fats and oils · South Asia, East Africa
Ghee
Butter cooked until its water evaporates and milk solids brown, then strained — nutty, and able to take high heat.
nutty · toasty
What to do with it
Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleGhee would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoGhee would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaGhee would soften its edge
MalaysianRoti canaiA flaky, chewy flatbread of dough spun paper-thin, folded and griddled with ghee, torn and dipped in dal and curry.No one here has made it yet
PunjabiAloo parathaWholewheat flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, rolled thin and cooked on a tawa with ghee, eaten with white butter, yoghurt and pickle.No one here has made it yet
PunjabiTandoori chickenChicken on the bone, marinated in yoghurt, lemon and spice, then roasted fast in the fierce heat of a clay tandoor.No one here has made it yetPunjabiGajar ka halwaGrated red carrots cooked slowly in milk until it's gone, then fried in ghee with sugar, cardamom and nuts.No one here has made it yetPunjabiAmritsari kulchaA leavened flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, pressed with coriander seed, slapped onto the wall of a tandoor and served dripping with butter beside chole.No one here has made it yetBengaliKosha mangshoGoat meat fried slowly with onion, ginger, garlic and yoghurt until the masala turns dark and clings — Bengal's Sunday mutton, eaten with luchi or rice.No one here has made it yetBengaliChingri malai curryLarge river prawns simmered in coconut milk with ginger, a little ghee and warm whole spices — mild, sweet and rich, and a dish for guests and weddings.No one here has made it yetBengaliLuchiSmall, pale, puffed breads of white flour and ghee, deep-fried in seconds — Bengal's breakfast and festival bread, eaten with potatoes, dal or kosha mangsho.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDal dhokliPieces of spiced wholewheat dough simmered in a sweet-sour toor dal with peanuts, jaggery and lemon — a whole meal in one pot.No one here has made it yetGujaratiGujarati kadhiYoghurt thickened with a little gram flour, simmered thin with ginger and chilli, sweetened slightly and tempered with ghee, cumin, clove and curry leaves.No one here has made it yetGoanBebincaA tall cake of many thin layers — coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar and flour, with ghee between them — each baked under a grill before the next is poured.No one here has made it yetKashmiriKashmiri yakhniMutton simmered in a pale, gently sour gravy of yoghurt scented with fennel, dried ginger and cardamom — no chilli, no turmeric.No one here has made it yetKashmiriGushtabaLarge, soft balls of mutton pounded smooth with fat, simmered in a spiced yoghurt gravy — traditionally the last meat course of the wazwan.No one here has made it yetKashmiriTabak maazLamb ribs simmered in milk with whole spice until tender, then fried in ghee until crisp and glossy.No one here has made it yetKashmiriModur pulavRice cooked in ghee and milk with saffron, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom, studded with dried fruit and nuts.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniDal baati churmaHard, round wheat breads baked in the coals and soaked in ghee, eaten with a spiced mixed dal and churma — the same dough crushed with ghee and sugar.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniLaal maasMutton cooked in ghee and yoghurt with a great many dried red chillies, garlic and whole spice — fiery, deep red and often smoky.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniGatte ki sabziDumplings of spiced gram flour, boiled and sliced, then simmered in a tangy yoghurt gravy.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniGhevarA lacy, honeycombed disc of batter fried in ghee, soaked in syrup and often topped with rabri and nuts.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniPyaaz kachoriA flaky, deep-fried pastry filled with onion cooked down with fennel, coriander seed and chilli, eaten with tamarind and mint chutneys.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniMohan maasMutton cooked slowly in milk and cream with cardamom and ground cashews — the mild, rich dish of Rajasthan's royal kitchens.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianMasala dosaA thin, crisp pancake of fermented rice and lentil batter, folded around spiced potato and served with sambar and coconut chutney.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianRasamA thin, peppery, sour broth of tamarind and tomato, with cumin and garlic — poured over rice, or drunk from a cup.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianHyderabadi biryaniMarinated goat or chicken layered raw under half-cooked basmati, with saffron, fried onion and mint, then sealed and cooked slowly on dum.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianKori rottiA chicken curry of coconut milk and roasted red chilli, poured over crisp, paper-thin wafers of dried rice that soften as you eat.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianPayasamRice, lentils or vermicelli cooked slowly in milk or coconut milk with sugar or jaggery, scented with cardamom and scattered with cashews fried in ghee.No one here has made it yetSri LankanLampraisRice cooked in stock, with a mixed-meat curry, frikkadels, prawn blachan, aubergine pickle and egg, wrapped in banana leaf and baked.No one here has made it yetLevantineFattehLayers of toasted flatbread, warm chickpeas and garlicky yoghurt with tahini, finished with pine nuts sizzled in butter or ghee.No one here has made it yetLevantineMansafLamb cooked in a sauce of jameed — dried, fermented yoghurt — piled on rice over thin bread, with toasted almonds and pine nuts.No one here has made it yet
EthiopianDoro watChicken stewed slowly in onions, berbere and niter kibbeh until dark and thick, with whole hard-boiled eggs.No one here has made it yetEthiopianMisir watRed lentils cooked in a berbere-spiced onion base until soft and thick — the everyday fasting stew.No one here has made it yetEthiopianKitfoFinely minced raw beef, warmed through with niter kibbeh and mitmita, served with fresh cheese and greens.No one here has made it yetEthiopianTibsCubes of beef or lamb seared hot with onion, green chilli and spiced butter — quick, where wat is slow.No one here has made it yetEthiopianGenfoA very thick porridge of barley or wheat flour, shaped into a mound with a well of spiced butter and berbere in the middle.No one here has made it yet
PunjabiAloo parathaWholewheat flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, rolled thin and cooked on a tawa with ghee, eaten with white butter, yoghurt and pickle.No one here has made it yetPunjabiTandoori chickenChicken on the bone, marinated in yoghurt, lemon and spice, then roasted fast in the fierce heat of a clay tandoor.No one here has made it yetPunjabiGajar ka halwaGrated red carrots cooked slowly in milk until it's gone, then fried in ghee with sugar, cardamom and nuts.No one here has made it yetPunjabiAmritsari kulchaA leavened flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, pressed with coriander seed, slapped onto the wall of a tandoor and served dripping with butter beside chole.No one here has made it yetBengaliKosha mangshoGoat meat fried slowly with onion, ginger, garlic and yoghurt until the masala turns dark and clings — Bengal's Sunday mutton, eaten with luchi or rice.No one here has made it yetBengaliChingri malai curryLarge river prawns simmered in coconut milk with ginger, a little ghee and warm whole spices — mild, sweet and rich, and a dish for guests and weddings.No one here has made it yetBengaliLuchiSmall, pale, puffed breads of white flour and ghee, deep-fried in seconds — Bengal's breakfast and festival bread, eaten with potatoes, dal or kosha mangsho.No one here has made it yetGujaratiDal dhokliPieces of spiced wholewheat dough simmered in a sweet-sour toor dal with peanuts, jaggery and lemon — a whole meal in one pot.No one here has made it yetGujaratiGujarati kadhiYoghurt thickened with a little gram flour, simmered thin with ginger and chilli, sweetened slightly and tempered with ghee, cumin, clove and curry leaves.No one here has made it yetGoanBebincaA tall cake of many thin layers — coconut milk, egg yolks, sugar and flour, with ghee between them — each baked under a grill before the next is poured.No one here has made it yetKashmiriKashmiri yakhniMutton simmered in a pale, gently sour gravy of yoghurt scented with fennel, dried ginger and cardamom — no chilli, no turmeric.No one here has made it yetKashmiriGushtabaLarge, soft balls of mutton pounded smooth with fat, simmered in a spiced yoghurt gravy — traditionally the last meat course of the wazwan.No one here has made it yetKashmiriTabak maazLamb ribs simmered in milk with whole spice until tender, then fried in ghee until crisp and glossy.No one here has made it yetKashmiriModur pulavRice cooked in ghee and milk with saffron, sugar, cinnamon and cardamom, studded with dried fruit and nuts.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniDal baati churmaHard, round wheat breads baked in the coals and soaked in ghee, eaten with a spiced mixed dal and churma — the same dough crushed with ghee and sugar.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniLaal maasMutton cooked in ghee and yoghurt with a great many dried red chillies, garlic and whole spice — fiery, deep red and often smoky.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniGatte ki sabziDumplings of spiced gram flour, boiled and sliced, then simmered in a tangy yoghurt gravy.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniGhevarA lacy, honeycombed disc of batter fried in ghee, soaked in syrup and often topped with rabri and nuts.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniPyaaz kachoriA flaky, deep-fried pastry filled with onion cooked down with fennel, coriander seed and chilli, eaten with tamarind and mint chutneys.No one here has made it yetRajasthaniMohan maasMutton cooked slowly in milk and cream with cardamom and ground cashews — the mild, rich dish of Rajasthan's royal kitchens.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianMasala dosaA thin, crisp pancake of fermented rice and lentil batter, folded around spiced potato and served with sambar and coconut chutney.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianRasamA thin, peppery, sour broth of tamarind and tomato, with cumin and garlic — poured over rice, or drunk from a cup.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianHyderabadi biryaniMarinated goat or chicken layered raw under half-cooked basmati, with saffron, fried onion and mint, then sealed and cooked slowly on dum.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianKori rottiA chicken curry of coconut milk and roasted red chilli, poured over crisp, paper-thin wafers of dried rice that soften as you eat.No one here has made it yetSouth IndianPayasamRice, lentils or vermicelli cooked slowly in milk or coconut milk with sugar or jaggery, scented with cardamom and scattered with cashews fried in ghee.No one here has made it yetSri LankanLampraisRice cooked in stock, with a mixed-meat curry, frikkadels, prawn blachan, aubergine pickle and egg, wrapped in banana leaf and baked.No one here has made it yetLevantineFattehLayers of toasted flatbread, warm chickpeas and garlicky yoghurt with tahini, finished with pine nuts sizzled in butter or ghee.No one here has made it yetLevantineMansafLamb cooked in a sauce of jameed — dried, fermented yoghurt — piled on rice over thin bread, with toasted almonds and pine nuts.No one here has made it yetEthiopianDoro watChicken stewed slowly in onions, berbere and niter kibbeh until dark and thick, with whole hard-boiled eggs.No one here has made it yetEthiopianMisir watRed lentils cooked in a berbere-spiced onion base until soft and thick — the everyday fasting stew.No one here has made it yetEthiopianKitfoFinely minced raw beef, warmed through with niter kibbeh and mitmita, served with fresh cheese and greens.No one here has made it yetEthiopianTibsCubes of beef or lamb seared hot with onion, green chilli and spiced butter — quick, where wat is slow.No one here has made it yetEthiopianGenfoA very thick porridge of barley or wheat flour, shaped into a mound with a well of spiced butter and berbere in the middle.No one here has made it yetIf you can't find it
Indian grocers and most supermarkets.
- Clarify it: melt slowly, let the milk solids brown a little, and pour off the clear fatYou lose nothing — that's ghee.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- South Asian grocers — or make it: butter, a low heat, patience.
- A little history
- In Ethiopia, the spiced version, niter kibbeh, is simmered with fenugreek, cardamom, garlic and ginger.
Kitchens that keep it in
Punjab — northern India and eastern PakistanPunjabiWheat, dairy and the tandoor: rich, generous cooking from the land of five rivers, and the source of much of what the world calls Indian food.10 classicsWest Bengal — eastern India, on the Ganges deltaBengaliFish, rice and mustard: a delta kitchen of sharp mustard oil and freshwater fish, eaten in courses from bitter to sweet, and ending with some of India's most famous sweets.9 classicsKashmir and Jammu — the Kashmir Valley and the hills below it, in India's far northKashmiriLamb, saffron and fennel in a high valley ringed by mountains: meat slow-cooked in yoghurt or red with Kashmiri chilli, greens from the lake, and kahwa against the cold.9 classicsRajasthan — the Thar Desert and the Aravalli hills of north-western IndiaRajasthaniDesert cooking: millet, lentils and gram flour, ghee in generous measure, dried beans and berries that keep, fiery red meat from the Rajput courts and sweets made for festivals.9 classics