Ghee DIY – Bilona Style!

If you are the one who does the grocery shopping for the house, you are sure to have read Bilona Ghee on the labels of a lot of Ghee bottles. So, what is it actually?

The traditional Bilona method is the ideal way of preparing and consuming Ghee, rather than making it from Milk Cream or Malai. It is a roughly 3000-year-old practice technique mentioned in the Vedas. This indigenous method is regaining significant attraction after the pandemic. 

The word Bilona means to churn. 30 to 33 liters of milk (converted to Curd and then churned to get Makhan) is required to make 1 liter of Bilona Ghee.

Here is a stepwise procedure for Ghee preparation:

1. Boiling of Milk: Whole Milk is boiled to remove any existing harmful bacteria and increase its concentration a little more. However, if the source of Milk is known and authentic, it does not need to be pasteurized. Pasteurising kills good bacteria in the milk as well.  

2. Curdling the Milk: Boiled Milk is brought to room temperature and a spoonful of curd is added to it. Letting it settle overnight converts the entire mixture to curd—the practice of following these steps in an earthen pot yields ideal results. However, steel vessels can also be used as an alternative. 

3. Churning: This is the Bilona process. The entire Curd is churned with a wooden beater, called Bilona. The back and forth movement of the Bilona helps separate the Makhan from the Curd. Curd turns into Buttermilk due to the continuous churning and the Makhan is separated. Makhan and Buttermilk are then separated. 

4. Heating the Makhan: Makhan is heated at a moderate temperature and allowed to melt. A visible solid layer at the bottom of the vessel and a golden yellow ghee layer at the top will be seen over a period of time, which indicates that Ghee should be soon ready. Alternatively, stirring should be done to avoid the solid mixture adhering to the bottom. 

5. Final Ghee: The golden yellow liquid turns aromatic, separating out totally from the solid layer at the bottom. This can be strained and stored in a glass container to maintain its texture, taste, odor, and longer shelf life.

Make your own Ghee and enjoy the taste and purity!