How to Make Homemade Desi Ghee from Curd

24 Nov How to Make Homemade Desi Ghee from Curd

Last Updated on November 24, 2025 by blessmyfoodbypayal

How to Make Homemade Desi Ghee from Curd with step wise pictorial and video method.

There’s a general conception that Desi Ghee is something comes from Milk fat and so good for health. And this conception is not wrong.

But at the same time there’s a nonconception of one fact that Desi Ghee can be made from Curd as well and to your utter surprise, it is the another fact that Desi Ghee made from Curd is much more healthier than the one made from direct milk fat.

You can’t just imagine any Indian Kitchen without Desi Ghee and be it store bought or homemade, you will find Ghee in every kitchen. Over the centuries, ghee is an integral part of Indian kitchens. And its role is always vital, be it in rituals, festivals or from the Ayurvedic point of view.

Great source of good fats, vitamins (A, D, E, K), and antioxidants, desi ghee is considered for its digestive and immunity-boosting properties according to Ayurveda.

Most of us are keep on making desi ghee at home from years and the common practice is collecting malai/cream from boiled milk for days, churn it into butter and melt the butter to make desi ghee. Isn’t it?

The other method is to directly heat malai until it is converted to desi ghee.

But in both these cases, we have been making desi ghee from malai/cream. 

Though we are not health experts but very recently we learnt that the desi ghee made from curd is the healthier one because first of all the milk goes through fermentation, which activates good bacteria and increases nutrient absorption. Whereas malai based desi ghee is heavier, harder to digest and lower in bio-availability of nutrients because of lack of fermentation.

The fermentation has a big role in making the ghee healthier making it boosts metabolism, reduces bad cholesterol, improves bone and joint strength, retains more antioxidants, promotes hormonal balance and supports immunity.

TWO METHODS OF MAKING DESI GHEE FROM CURD 

METHOD 1 : This is the very basic and direct method of making ghee from curd. Just take good quality of curd, churn it, butter will come out, melt that and your desi ghee is ready.

You must be thinking that if making desi ghee from curd is that much easy and simple, then why it is not a common practice?

Let us tell you. If you churn 1 kg of full fat curd, the butter you get will be hardly 50-60 grams and on melting it, the ghee is going to be even more less. Let’s assume it around 20-30 grams.

Here’s above, the prime reason people don’t make ghee from curd inspite of knowing about this process. After churning a huge quantity of curd which will take 15-20 minutes, what you are going to get is almost none. So it is neither physically nor economically convienent. 

Now here comes the METHOD 2 :

We have learnt this process from our milk vendor (doodhwala) and we are really thankful to him for his thorough guidance. We need not mention in detail because this is the one our post is based upon.

With the given method, we haven’t taken the curd directly but mixed malai and milk together and set them to a curd. This way the fat content of curd was increased multiple times and as such the quantity of butter coming from curd will be too high and so will be the desi ghee.

So the given method doesn’t abandon cream from its core, rather converted cream into curd first.

It is pertinent to mention here that by following the (almost) similar process, recently we had made Amul Butter as well.

So whenever your malai is enough to make desi ghee, instead of making ghee directly, go through the middle process of making the curd first and have a healthy version of ghee because in our life, ghee as more than a food; it’s a legacy.

STEP WISE PICTORIAL RECIPE OF HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE DESI GHEE FROM CURD

Take the malai out of freezer and let it come to room temperature. Transfer it in a big bowl for easy handling.

 Add boiling hot milk.

Mix well. Right now the temperature of this mixture should be at luke warm, appropriate to set the curd.

As these are the beginning of winters, so we are transferring it to hot case for setting, otherwise you can use any utensil you commonly used in setting the curd.

Add curd (starter) and mix well.

Put a lid and leave it for 8-10 hours at some warm place in the kitchen.

After the said hours, the curd is set.

Transfer this curd in a wide deep bowl. Add 1.5 cup water and ice cubes.

Start whisking the curd. You can use hand blender or electric blender.

Whisk for 5-10 minutes or until butter is separated.

Collect the butter and add to a bowl carrying ice cold chilled water. It will wash, as well as harden the butter. And here our butter is ready. If you want to use it as a butter, just squeeze it and keep.

But for making ghee, squeeze the butter and add to a pan.

Put the pan on low heat and let the butter melt. When butter is completely melted, simmer it for 4-5 minutes. You can see 3 layers, heavy white base, which may have buttermilk, yellow ghee in the middle and foam on the top. Switch off the heat and leave it undisturbed for 5-7 minutes.

Sieve the ghee through a clean cloth.

Though ghee is made but still it has some traces of buttermilk and to remove that, place the ghee in refrigerator until ghee is set.

Then remove the buttermilk from ghee.

And we have pure ghee from curd is ready.

NOTES

1. You can use any milk of your choice. As we buy only Cow’s milk in routine and as such our malai too is of cow’s milk.
2. In case curd, you are setting, turns too sour, no worries. It will have no effect on final product i.e. desi ghee, but only the buttermilk will be too sour.
3. We made 2 recipes with the leftover buttermilk : Kadhi and Mongra curry. (link for reference only).

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE DESI GHEE FROM CURD – RECIPE CARD

How to Make Homemade Desi Ghee from Curd

blessmyfoodbypayal

A simple traditional method to make pure and aromatic desi ghee from curd at home for better flavour and health.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Extra Time 18 hours hrs

Course Ingredient

Cuisine Indian

Servings 200 gram

Ingredients

  

• Malai collected for 15 days (roughly 800 gram to 1 kg)
• 500 ml boiling hot milk (full fat)
• 1 tbsp fresh curd as starter
• 1.5 cup water (chilled)
• 8-10 Ice cubes

Instructions

 

• Take the malai out of freezer and let it come to room temperature.
• Transfer it in a big bowl for easy handling.
• Add boiling hot milk.
• Mix well. Right now the temperature of this mixture should be at luke warm, appropriate to set the curd.
• As these are the beginning of winters, so we are transferring it to hot case for setting, otherwise you can use any utensil you commonly used in setting the curd.
• Add curd (starter) and mix well.
• Put a lid and leave it for 8-10 hours at some warm place in the kitchen.
• After the said hours, the curd is set.
• Transfer this curd in a wide deep bowl.
• Add 1.5 cup water and ice cubes.
• Start whisking the curd. You can use hand blender or electric blender.
• Whisk for 5-10 minutes or until butter is separated.
• Collect the butter and add to a bowl carrying ice cold chilled water. It will wash, as well as harden the butter. And here our butter is ready. If you want to use it as a butter, just squeeze it and keep.
• But for making ghee, squeeze the butter and add to a pan.
• Put the pan on low heat and let the butter melt.
• When butter is completely melted, simmer it for 4-5 minutes. You can see 3 layers, heavy white base, which may have buttermilk, yellow ghee in the middle and foam on the top.
• Switch off the heat and leave it undisturbed for 5-7 minutes.
• Sieve the ghee through a clean cloth.
• Though ghee is made but still it has some traces of buttermilk and to remove that, place the ghee in refrigerator until ghee is set.
• Then remove the buttermilk from ghee.
• And we have pure ghee from curd is ready.

Notes

1. You can use any milk of your choice. As we buy only Cow's milk in routine and as such our malai too is of cow's milk.
2. In case curd, you are setting, turns too sour, no worries. It will have no effect on final product i.e. desi ghee, but only the buttermilk will be too sour.
3. We made 2 recipes with the leftover buttermilk : Kadhi and Mongra curry (link for reference only).

Keyword desi ghee from curd, homemade desi ghee from curd, how to make desi ghee from milk