A2 Bilona Ghee

This is ghee the way it was made at home before the dairy packet came along. Milk from A2 cows is boiled and set into curd overnight. In the morning the curd is churned with a wooden bilona until the butter, the makkhan, floats up. That butter is lifted out and heated slowly in an open kadhai until the water cooks off and the ghee turns clear and golden.

It takes a lot of curd to get a small amount of ghee, which is why bilona ghee costs more than the ghee you see on most shelves.

What you will notice

The smell is the first thing. Open the jar and it smells like the ghee your nani kept in a steel dabba. The texture is usually grainy, with a little liquid on top in warm weather. A spoon on a hot phulka or over plain dal-chawal is how most families use it. It also works for halwa, laddoo and the ghee you pour into the diya during puja.

Good to know

• Keep the lid tight and use a dry spoon. Water or a wet spoon is what spoils ghee, not the weather.
• No need to refrigerate. In winter it sets hard and grainy, in summer it goes partly liquid. Both are normal.
• The 250 ml jar is a good way to try it. If ghee goes on the table at every meal, the 1 litre jar makes more sense once you know you like it.

Use it the way you use any ghee: a spoon on hot rotis or dal-chawal, for jeera or hing tadka, for roasting suji and atta in sweets, and for the diya. It has a high smoke point, so it also works for shallow frying.

Keep the lid closed and store at room temperature, away from the stove and direct sun. Always use a clean, dry spoon; water is what spoils ghee. It sets grainy in winter and turns partly liquid in summer. Both are normal.

Jars are sealed and packed with cushioning so they travel safely. If a jar arrives damaged or leaking, take a photo before opening the parcel fully and contact us with your order number.