Bilona makkhan and desi ghee
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White butter churned by hand from set curd, then slowly cooked into fragrant desi ghee, the pride of every Haryanvi home.
Region: HaryanaOccasion: Made at home every few daysTime: 1 hr + overnight settingServes: About 1 cup ghee from 5 litres of milkVegetarian
Ingredients
- 5 litres whole buffalo or cow milk
- 2 tbsp curd as a starter
- Cold water for churning
Method
- Boil the milk, then simmer it on very low heat for a long time (traditionally in a clay pot on a dung-cake fire) until it turns light pink.
- Cool to lukewarm, stir in the curd starter and leave overnight to set.
- Churn the curd in a tall pot with a wooden madhani, adding cold water, until lumps of butter float up. Lift out the butter (makkhan); the liquid left is chhachh.
- Heat the butter in a heavy pan on low heat, stirring, until it melts, foams and the solids turn golden brown at the bottom.
- Strain the clear ghee into a clean jar. The browned solids can be mixed with jaggery and eaten.
History
Churning curd by hand in a bilona (churn) is an old practice in north Indian homes, and in Haryana's dairy villages it is still part of daily work.
Significance
White butter on bajra roti and homemade ghee in every dish are at the centre of Haryanvi food, and good ghee is a gift and a mark of a well-kept home.