Golly gee, my ghee

This may be the dumbest question yet, but what the hell...
I bought a jar of this to make Keema Matar tonight, then realized I'll have an awful lot left. What to do with this stuff, as I don't make Indian food that often? Can I bake with it? Can I use it like butter in any application? How long does it last once it's refrigerated? You might be asking, why did you buy so much if you don't know what to do with it? Well, by the time I got there, I figured, why not. Got my cardamom cookies, got my rose lassi, might as well buy some ghee, make the recipe all authentic-like. I'm thinking of melting some and making some shortbread.

Thanks.

Ghee has a higher smoke point that olive oil. I ran into the same problem when I bought a jar and ended up mostly substituting it for olive oil. It gave a slight buttery taste to things sauteed, stir-fried, made delicious grilled onions, and worked well in crepes, pancakes and popovers as a substitute for butter. Haven't baked anything beyond popovers with it though. I'd be interested in a shortbread report...

Get a lobster or some king crab legs and use it for dippin'.

Ghee keeps for a very long time and requires no refrigeration. It will deteriorate if exposed to moisture.

Thanks! I would have kept it there forever!

It's great for sauteing and grilled sandwiches (grilled cheese, patty melts, etc)

I think that in his omelet episode, Alton Brown recommends ghee for making omelets because, as mentioned already, it has a high smokepoint and a buttery taste.

Very good for things like pan fried potatoes, fried eggs, etc. Also use in any recipe that calls for clarified butter.

and here is a recipe for:

Naan Khatai
which is a Indian cookie that is traditionally made with clarified butter or "ghee"
Ingredients:
12 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons semolina
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
10 tablespoons ghee
a pinch of freshly ground cardamom
12 whole almonds for garnish (optional)


In a large mixing bowl beat together the sugar with the ghee
Stir in flour and semolina to make a soft dough. Pinch off 12 pieces of dough to make 12 balls.
Flatten balls between the palms of your hands to form small rounds about 1" (inch) in thickness.
Press an almond into the center of each cookie.
Bake at 350F. for about 15 minutes. These should brown just a little around the edges.

Makes 12 cookies.

So far I only got around to making the shortbread, and it was a heavy treat that could have benefitted from more sugar (brown may have been better) and a drizzling of chocolate. If anyone wants to give it a go:





GHEE SHORTBREAD
6 oz. ghee
4 oz. sugar
8 oz. all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray an 8-square pan with cooking spray. Cream ghee and sugar together in a medium bowl. Gently stir in flour. Spread evenly in prepared pan and bake for 30-45 minutes or until as browned as you like. As soon as it's done, "cut" into slices with a butter knife and let cool completely on a wire rack. When cool, cut again to make sure cookies are sliced are all the way through. Store in the fridge (leaving them out makes them too soft to remove from the pan. Maybe I should have used more flour? An egg?). I just used my good old fashioned recipe for Scotch Shortbread with ghee in place of butter. Next I'll try jygach's recipe instead. I love that it makes just 12!

I have a big jar of ghee and I was about to use it yesterday but I wasn't sure if it was still good. There's no expiration date on the jar. The ghee itself had a flaky white layer on top and that didn't bother me, but the lid had some drips of ghee that was covered in flakes, and I couldn't tell if it was mold or what. Does ghee go bad?

Thanks!

Pie Lady wrote:I have a big jar of ghee and I was about to use it yesterday but I wasn't sure if it was still good. There's no expiration date on the jar. The ghee itself had a flaky white layer on top and that didn't bother me, but the lid had some drips of ghee that was covered in flakes, and I couldn't tell if it was mold or what. Does ghee go bad?

Thanks!

Ghee does become rancid. I would use the smell test. If it smells like fragrant browned butter it's good. I don't believe the flaking is an issue.