Uttarakhand calls it the ‘Land of Gods’. Mysterious, beautiful, exotic, charming, and magnificent, that’s Uttrakhand in a nutshell. The enchanting land is divine with some jaw-dropping tourist places and when you visit this place you can better judge why the Gods chose Uttarakhand to make it their abode. With several beautiful places to visit in Uttarakhand, a trip to Uttarakhand should be on your bucket list of places to see in India.
Uttarakhand is popularly known as The Abode of Gods (Devbhumi). There are several festivals celebrated in different parts of the states throughout the year. Most of the festivals are associated with agricultural activities, nature, and changes in seasons. In this series of festivals, one of the festivals is known as ‘Ghee Tyar’ or ‘Ghee Sankranti. This is one of the most popular and well-known festivals celebrated in the rainy season. It’s been celebrated all across the state for centuries.
As per the Indian lunar calendar, Ghee Tyar or Ghee Sankranti is celebrated on the first day of the Hindu month Bhadrapada (August). In this festival people necessarily include delicious foods made of Ghee in their meal, maybe this is the reason its name as Ghee Tyar. In addition to this, people also include Urad (Black gram) stuffed chapatis and vegetables made of Arbi (Taro root) fresh leaves on their meal. On this wonderful day, farmers show their gratitude for a prosperous harvest and share their food made of Ghee with each other.
Ghee (also known as clarified butter) is delicious with a nutty aroma. It’s easy to make at home, perfect for those who are dairy-sensitive, and cheaper than what you can buy in the store. Ghee is similar to clarified butter, where all the milk solids are removed, but it’s cooked just a tad bit longer. Those extra couple of minutes allow the milk solids on the bottom of the pan to begin to brown, which gives ghee a slightly different, more nutty flavor profile to clarified butter.
Ghee is a traditional Indian food and has been enjoyed in the Middle East and Asia for thousands of years. It’s also frequently used in Ayurveda and other healing medicines. Once you make ghee at home, it’ll be hard to go back to store-bought. Because it’s just so easy to make.
I have seen my Maa & NaniMaa making ghee every day from homemade butter. I have never seen her buying it from the store. She is a firm believer in homemade ghee. It tastes, smells way better than a store-bought one. Once you go this route, you will never look back. My Maa & NaniMaa makes “desi ghee” from malai. Cream refers to “MALAI” – Malai is a thick yellowish layer of fat and coagulated proteins that form a layer on the surface of the milk. It is formed when raw milk is heated for an hour and then it cools down completely. After that, a thick, yellow-toned layer of fat will form on the surface. But here in the Netherlands, that is not possible so I made ghee from butter.
Ingredients :
5 blocks of unsalted butter each 250 gms
Black cardamom – 1
Method :
- Place the butter in a clean pan on low heat. Let the butter melt, do not stir.
- Once the butter melts completely, let it simmer and add black cardamom. As the butter simmers, it’ll start foaming and splutter.
- Continue cooking the ghee on low heat for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the milk solids don’t burn at the bottom. As it cooks, it’ll start to change colour from a bright yellow to slightly greenish and then to a light golden brown.
- Once the ghee becomes clear, stops foaming and the milk solids at the bottom turn brown, Ghee is ready 🙂 Let it cool for 40 minutes before straining it. Store it in an airtight jar.
- Ghee starts to solidify, but still runny in consistency. It gets lighter on color as it becomes solid.
Mad About Cooking 