Garlic roasted in ghee was a favorite summer time snack growing up. It was the only way I could eat garlic when I was a child. They are also specifically prepared and fed to new mothers after delivery. Garlic is well known for it’s disease-preventing properties and toasting in ghee makes garlic more palatable. So, it’s no wonder garlic-ghee combination has traditional roots. Also, garlic seems to enjoy ghee’s company. The special affinity between them is evident by the deep blush and the sweetness of garlic when ghee is around. Even the aroma changes to stimulating from another “s” type.:)
The following is a recipe that I have come up with while playing in the kitchen yesterday afternoon. I started out with the idea of preparing garlic-infused ghee, then during the process I realized I could make two types of garlic-ghee. Garlic infused ghee and garlic pureed in ghee. Both of them tasted so good and the aroma was wonderful, they have made the whole process of cooking a great adventure instead of an annoying chore. And with garlic-ghee on hand, I know miracles are possible with many savory entrΓΖΓΒ©es.
Recipe:
The following quantity makes about one cup of garlic-infused ghee and quarter cup garlic-ghee puree.
Unsalted butter – 4 OZ (113 grams)
Garlic cloves – 6 to 8, skins peeled
Black peppercorn – 8
Salt – a pinch
For preparation, follow the photo pictorial below:
1. Finely slice each garlic clove into thin layers. Inside you see white or pale green stem. The pure white ones are preferable for this recipe, and discard the garlic if you see any green growth inside.
2. Place the garlic and butter in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat.
The garlic and ghee will look like this in the beginning.
3. After about 20-30 minutes of slow simmering, the butter changes to crystal-clear, aromatic ghee. Pale reddish-brown sediment forms at the bottom of the pan. The garlic also changes to soft and golden. Turn off the heat now.
4. Pour the garlic-ghee through a strainer into a cup. The golden sediment and garlic will get separated from garlic-infused ghee.
5. Take the contents of strainer in a mortar. Add peppercorn and salt. Gently mash them to coarse paste.
6. Allow the garlic-ghee puree and garlic-infused ghee to cool. Store them in clean jars.
Garlic-Ghee Puree and Garlic-Infused Ghee ~ for Mathy’s Garlic Jihva
Greens, vegetables, dals, meat and fish, just a teaspoon would be enough and both, the garlic puree and ghee make wonderful additions to any savory preparation.
WOW!!! Indira, hats off to you!
I would have never thought of such interesting avatar of garlic. I can think of lot of uses for this Garlic-ghee puree. How abt some on Sandwiches, toast or crackers.
Comment by Anjali Damerla — March 31, 2008 @ 1:53 pm
Yes, they are great to apply on skillet and baked wheat goods. Chapati with a light coating of garlic-ghee puree, filled with curry is what I had for lunch today.:)
Thanks Anjali.
Comment by Indira — March 31, 2008 @ 1:59 pm
That is such an innovative idea. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Anitha Medichetti — March 31, 2008 @ 2:00 pm
I love the idea Indira. I recently made ghee, and rediscovered it’s joys after almost 3 odd years of not eating it at all. This opens up a whole new realm of flavours – cinnamon ghee?
Your ghee pictorial is as usual A class π
Have you been roped into the arusuvai yet? I have an ingredient that I’ve been meaning to share with you for a long time π Do drop me a line if you’d like to play along.
Its lovely to see you enjoying the flavours of the season, trust all is well.
Comment by aa — March 31, 2008 @ 2:05 pm
Indira – Congratulations on mahanandi’s 3 anniversary.
I tried making ghee few weeks ago and added cloves and cinnamon sticks the ghee smells divine.
I will try this version soon, the garlic ghee combo sounds good with endless possibilities
Comment by Freshma — March 31, 2008 @ 3:11 pm
wow ! you are so so so creative …what a wonderful recipe…and yes i can get the aroma here….:-)
Comment by rashmi — March 31, 2008 @ 4:01 pm
OMG, I was salvating seeing the three pic – garlic in ghee.. and Congratulations on ur third anniversary Indira.. may u have many more!
Siri
Comment by Siri — March 31, 2008 @ 4:03 pm
I can’t stop myself to comment again and say – love the idea of garlic infused ghee Indira.. now that I read ur post thrice uptil now..:))
Siri
Comment by Siri — March 31, 2008 @ 4:09 pm
Spice infused ghee is a staple of Ethiopian cuisine Indira. Called Nitre Kibbeh (sp?)I believe they use it for most dishes the way we use peanut oil/sunflower oil etc…
Perhaps you could try your hand at an Ethiopian series on Mahanandi:)
Comment by Janani — March 31, 2008 @ 4:34 pm
Indira, Excellent idea…Also, is it true that garlic prevents gas and acid reflux. please give your idea..Your pictorial is drool-worthy..
Comment by Isha — March 31, 2008 @ 4:44 pm
Hi Indira, brilliant recipe & pics. Looking forward to recipes with the garlic-ghee puree. I can only think of it as a spread on bread/chapati:-)
Comment by Madhuri.A — March 31, 2008 @ 4:48 pm
Neat!
I know you are vegetarian, but this reminded me of an Italian/Spanish/Portuguese recipe called “bagna cauda” (hot bath), which is garlic cooked in olive oil with anchovies smashed into it. The whole pot bubbles away over a low flame, and one dips bread into it and eats the garlic-y little morsels. Very tasty. But then again, I’d eat garlic on cardboard – I do love it so.
Comment by Diane — March 31, 2008 @ 4:56 pm
Indira,Going to make this soon.
thank you for sharing .
vineela
Comment by vineela — March 31, 2008 @ 5:54 pm
Hi,
I knew all about ghee, but flavoured ghee that too flavoured with one of my fav flavours, garlic? you open up a whole new world here… thanks for the tip.. Wonderful site you have here…
best
Chandan
Comment by Chandan — March 31, 2008 @ 6:49 pm
I’m excited at the thought of all the delicious things that can be made from the ghee and the garlic paste.
Comment by Cynthia — March 31, 2008 @ 7:24 pm
How come even the simple thing you do looks so magnificent?
Comment by Madhuram — March 31, 2008 @ 7:56 pm
smells good! I would love to apply some of that while toasting my bread slices.
Comment by Roma — March 31, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
My Andhra friend had talked about garlic sauted in ghee as her all time favorite but Indira the pictures were lip smacking. Again I like the pureed garlic idea and it should be wonderful on anything. Amma usually adds few sprigs of fresh drumstick leaves during the last few minutes when making ghee and there would be a tough fight for it during our childhood days. A wonderful entry for Jhiva.
Comment by Nirmala — April 1, 2008 @ 12:37 am
i am really excited abt this recipe indiara. there was always big competition bet me and my sis when it came to eating roasted garlic for tadka in few dishes. this recipe tops my to-do list π thank you…
Comment by sia — April 1, 2008 @ 2:42 am
oops, in excitement i splelt ur name wrong:) sorry abt that…
Comment by sia — April 1, 2008 @ 2:42 am
Indira, I have come across ghee infused with a medley of spices and garlic and onion (Nitter Kibbe) but it never crossed my mind to try it w/ just garlic. Your recipe has given me several ideas. I think the garlic-ghee puree would taste fabulous on toast.
Comment by Mamatha — April 1, 2008 @ 4:50 am
Indira,
A Big HUG to you for this…
My mind is so busy thinking about the infinite lipsmacking possibilities with garlic ghee !!!
Thanks for sharing !!!
Leena π
Comment by Leena — April 1, 2008 @ 6:50 am
This looks fabulous!! My grandmother used to give us garlics roasted in gingelly oil and I loved those… roasting them in ghee must be divine too.
Comment by Laavanya — April 1, 2008 @ 7:31 am
This is such an innovative idea!!Hats off to you.I am drooling already π
Comment by Shalini — April 1, 2008 @ 8:47 am
OH MY GOODNESS!! What a great idea! Garlic infused anything would be good, garlic infused ghee will be heavenly. I remember childhood memories about fighting for the left over ghee in the chatti. Mom adds curry leaves and rock salt towards the end of the process. Once ghee is cooled and stored she adds hot rice to the chatti she makes ghee with, and she doesn’t have to call us kids, we will be piled next to her drooling. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Sudha Rajagopalan — April 1, 2008 @ 9:30 am
Thanks a million from breastfeeding mom of a small baby looking desperately for time saving recipes with garlic … why did I not think of this before?? And how do you come up with one brilliant recipe after another? My dinner prep usually goes like this these days – put baby to bed, boot up my laptop, pull ingredients from fridge andpantry, check out the food blogs – especially mahanandi, pick recipe, cook, eat! Thanks for all the help.
Comment by ash — April 1, 2008 @ 11:51 am
Amma usually adds drumstick leaves at the end while making ghee. She fried the garlic in ghee and asked me to have them when I had my daughter. Nice recipe idea as always.
Sarada
Comment by Sarada — April 1, 2008 @ 1:49 pm
I miss ghee a lot! Havent had it from a long time. Thnx for sharing the idea, Garlic infused ghee and the puree look very good.
Comment by Mona — April 1, 2008 @ 5:17 pm
Thank you for the gheelicious good words, friends. π
Hi Isha: Garlic causes many health benefits. It’s mainly known for its heart healthy properties. You can find more about garlic goodness – Here
Hi AA: I would love to try the arusuvai. Mail away. π
Janani and Mamatha: Ethiopian “Nitter Kibbe” sounds very exciting. Any interesting veg recipes? Will try Google and yahoo search too.
Diane: Vijay would love that Portuguese garlic-olive slow simmer with anchovies.:) He actually applied the garlic-ghee puree on mahi-mahi piece and oven baked it for his supper yesterday. Good meal, he said.
Comment by Indira — April 1, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
Great idea! I will try this – can already think of a million uses.
Comment by Vegeyum — April 3, 2008 @ 3:58 am
Gee, Indira! This is the first time I’ve heard of such a delicacy. Some of us can only stare at it, though, and imagine what it tastes like. The little bottle with ghee looks like ambrosia, fit for the gods.
Comment by terri — April 3, 2008 @ 7:39 am
hi indira, this is how my mom makes ghee at home, with garlic and rock salt.and yeah, we would wait by her to eat the leftover sediment and garlic bits. or it would be mixed with rice and eaten by mom if we were missing. she is quite a snacker whose genes we have inherited.i would sometimes take permission from her to eat the whole thing alone!
Comment by srividya — April 3, 2008 @ 3:09 pm
Indira,
I had bookmarked a very good collection of Ethiopian Vegetarian recipes, but that link is defunct now. I found a few:
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/ethiopia.htm
http://www.care2.com/c2c/groups/disc.html?gpp=48&pst=383249&posts=14
I hope you find these links useful.
There are some really good recipes in those links. Thanks Mamatha.:)
-Indira
Comment by Mamatha — April 3, 2008 @ 7:09 pm
garlic infused ghee with pictures is copied in indiantikka.blogspot.com/2008/04/garlic-infused-ghee-html on april 2, 2008
Comment by suri — April 3, 2008 @ 9:51 pm
Hi Indira:
I cannot find some of my links with the recipes but anyway the restaurant reviews are pretty hunger provoking themselves:)
http://events.nytimes.com/2006/11/01/dining/reviews/01unde.html
My first intro to it was when my sis was a student at Georgetown. They had this place called Zed’s. Awesome food! I’m certain Seattle will have atleats one. You should check it out.
One thing though is that the Injera made with Teff (very similar to Ragi in my opinion) is the real deal. If they substitute it with all purpose flour, it can wreak havoc on your stomach sometimes..
Thanks very much for the informative links Janani. Seattle has a large Ethiopian population, I think I can find good restaurants and also teff flour here.
-Indira
Comment by Janani — April 4, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikrhtNrgi8o&feature=related lots of injera making tutorials on Youtube
Comment by Janani — April 4, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
i can only just imagine the aroma that engulfed the house when this was being made!! the addition of the garlic puree in ghee to dals and vegetables will take it to another level!! congrats on your third!!
Comment by arundati — April 6, 2008 @ 6:42 am
Very good photography & good presntation. All are tempting to do.
Comment by viji — September 24, 2008 @ 3:43 am
HI! just tried your garlic ghee-Its great!! So is the puree. A question though, the puree, with the solids that gives it it’s remarkable flavor, how good is it for you? I need to find out because I want to eat lots of it!!!
Thanks!!!
Comment by bob — February 23, 2009 @ 2:20 pm
this ghee cannot be used for sweets. with all that garlic it will taste like curry!
Comment by anuradha — September 14, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
i usually use salted butter for making ghee. why did u use unsalted butter?
Comment by anuradha — September 14, 2009 @ 4:45 pm
Indira, a query – we buy ready-made ghee. Would reheating this with garlic work?
Rgds
Anjali
Comment by Anjali — April 19, 2014 @ 9:35 am