Spiced Ghee - black tellicherry

Method

• 1.
• In a mortar and pestle, lightly crush the peppercorns, cardamom, and fennel.
• Keep the other spices (cloves and caraway seeds) whole.
• 2.
• In the same pan that you will use to make ghee, add all the spices, crushed and whole, and turn on the heat to low.
• Gently dry-roast the spices until they are aromatic.
• This will happen within a minute so keep an eye on things or youll have burnt-tasting spiced ghee.
• If you are distracted or short on time, skip this step and add the spices and butter together to the pan.
• Un-roasted spices will affect the final flavour far less than burnt spices!
• 3.
• Add the butter, turn the heat up to medium-low and let the butter melt completely.
• 4.
• Turn the heat to very low for the remainder of the process, and cook for an additional 25-30 minutes.
• The butter will start to foam and you will hear the butter crackle and pop.
• This is water evaporating from the butter.
• 5.
• Periodically check the butter without stirring.
• Instead of stirring, tilt the pan slightly or use a stainless steel or wood spoon to separate the foam so you can see the butter solids and spices.
• As the butter cooks, the solids will separate and settle, and the butter will get clearer.
• 6.
• As more and more water evaporates, the crackling and popping will reduce and the solids at the bottom of the pan will turn caramel in colour.
• After roughly 20-25 minutes after you start cooking the butter on low heat, the crackling and popping will almost completely stop.
• The solids will also turn a deep golden colour (you want to make sure it doesnt turn dark brown).
• 7.
• Immediately turn off the heat when it turns this deep golden colour!
• Deep golden to burnt takes no time at all and thats most definitely going to make the ghee taste burnt.
• 8.
• Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the ghee into a completely dry container.
• Let the ghee cool completely before putting a lid on the container.
• 9.
• Store in a covered container at room temperature.
• Ghee at room temperature is straw coloured with a semi-liquid texture.
• If correctly made, it will be easily spoon-able at room temperature with no scraping required.
• Always use a clean spoon to scoop out ghee for use.
• Ghee does not need to be refrigerated and if it is not exposed to contaminates, it will keep for over a year, even outside the fridge.