Just curious if anyone knows about bratbutter. Is it the same as Indian "Ghee"? I've seen ghee at the health food stores for and exuberant price. If the bratbutter is the same, I'd like to maybe use it in some Indian recipes. Thanks
And I was just about to post a thread... until I saw this.
I now cook a hell of a lot of Indian food, and I was looking for a Ghee replacement that wasn't Vegetable or Olive Oil. Will go and buy some Bratbutter today!
If you use Rick's recipes you can't fail, he travelled much of India taking down the best recipes he tried in everything from street cafes to family celebrations to major hotels. It's a beautiful series to watch, and an amazing book to have in your collection!
Do you know if most of his recipes are from Northern India or Southern India (or both)? I prefer the creamier Indian dishes found in the Northern part.
He travelled all around, doing a particular region in each show. Was very well made program, although we weren't particularly inspired by any specific recipes. Great theme tune too. Seems like all the episodes are available on youtube.
Ok, just looked in Co-Op and the cooking butter was about 4.50chf for a really small bottle. Just remembered that Bharkats cash and carry are almost certainly going to have proper Ghee in decent quantities for less than your average black market organ,, so going to run over there now and will report back a bit later!
Ghee is very easy to make at home from "normal" butter, no need to buy anything. In a thick-bottomed pan, melt a package of butter over low heat. You can do it while you're cooking something else, stirring occasionally and being careful not to burn it.
It will start bubbling and milk solids will float to the surface. Skim these off with a spoon; the foaming will be done in about 20 minutes. The butter will be clear except for some sediment on the bottom.
Turn the heat off and let the butter stand. After a couple of minutes, most of the sediment will settle on the bottom and the remaining stuff will float on top. Skim that off, then pour off the clear part into a storage container (I store it in tupperware in the fridge; it keeps at room temperature for a couple of weeks, but I usually use it for longer, which is why I keep it in the fridge).
Good luck! Migros also has it for 7.80 / 450g. Look next to the vegetable oil, not next to the butter.
I looked into it once and concluded I wouldn't save much money by making my own, given the cost of butter here in the first place: 2.85 / 250g (which of course yields only about 200g of ghee) plus the time to cook and skim it.
Well, ironically enough, Bharkats DOES sell butter Ghee... but is even more expensive than Co-Op (I know, I was shocked too). 500g is 9.90chf, and 1KG is 18.90chf. I bought a 500g pack just to try it, as I know it's the real deal.
Also I now pretty much have every ingredient needed for making 80% of all known curries, my drawer is literally bursting with Indian stuff.
Too much work for too little reward.
My thoughts exactly! Will keep Migros in mind also as I live next to one. Wonder if Denner has it also?
Herself has a gobful of cheese, so I've been asked to relay the message that: yes, it does. It's in the refrigerator case with the dairy stuff, not near the oils.
Ah, maybe that was the problem. I was using packaged, ground spices that I had bought from the Indian market in Zurich, near Limmatplatz. Also, one problem I encountered was that a lot of the recipes called for yogurt. I made the mistake of using just plain yogurt, which made the dish taste too sour. I later learned that it's best to use the greek style yogurt.
Anyone know if this is true? Or how to counteract the sourness when using yogurt in an Indian recipe?
Ok, I just dutifully trotted off to Brunapark to checkout Migros and Denners, and can confirm that I have found the cheapest "Ghee" in Zurich... *drumroll*
Denner has it for 7.35chf for 450g, whereas Migro had exactly the same one for 80 rappen more.