Do you have a whole lot of cream (top layer of milk after boiling i.e. malai) piling up each day and no one to use it? Here’s what you can do with it. Make butter from it, and flavour it with anything you like. The kids will love it, you will love it and they will love it. The buttermilk you get can be used in our fluffy buttermilk pancakes.
How to make butter:
Follow this basic recipe for making butter:
- Always use the full milk (not the skim one) so that you get a fairly thick
layer of cream or malai. Bring the milk to boil. Keep aside to cool to room
temperature. Place the vessel in the fridge for 5-6 hours so that the top
cream can set undisturbed. Carefully remove the layer with a perforated
spoon and store in a glass or ceramic bowl with a lid. When the quantity is
sufficient to run in your mixie, you may proceed.
Tip: You may store the cream in the fridge for up to 3 days so that you can
have a reasonable quantity to use.
You may now proceed to make butter in any one of the following ways.
- Instant Method:
Put the above cream in a mixie, add the juice of a whole lemon, whip. When a smooth lump is formed, add some chilled water. Whip sparingly. The butter will form a solid lump and water will separate. Drain water, take lump in a wide bowl. Turn with moist hands, washing with chilled water 2-3 times. Drain out all the excess water. The butter is ready to use. Either as is, or salted with a few pinches salt. Or use to flavour as in the recipes in the following days. - By Making Cream Curd:
Add a tsp. of curd to the collected cream (procured as in introduction).
Set aside in a warm dark place of 5-6 hour, overnight or till set. Whip with an egg beater, hand whipper or electric whipper. When the water begins to separate, add 1/2 litre chilled water, whip again. The butter will form lumps. Collect by hand and form a ball. Drain the water and keep aside. This water will be like buttermilk. Now wash the butter as in method 1, and continue as above.
NOTE:
Butter got by this method may start souring after 4-5 days. So, make little at a time and use up within 3-4 days. However, the buttermilk got from this method can be used to prepare different recipes. If the remains of water in the butter is more, then the chances of it getting sour faster are more. Therefore take are to remove as much water as possible. Always store in the refrigerator.
