What does ghee mean?
Ghee is the South Asian form of clarified butter, made by heating butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids separate, leaving a golden-yellow fat with a distinctive nutty aroma. In South Asian cooking, it is used with dals, rice, breads, vegetables, and sweets, and it may be poured over a dish as a finishing ingredient or used to temper spices. Its flavor comes partly from the browning of the milk solids during preparation, which gives it a richer taste and aroma than ordinary butter. In British and American English, ghee is most often encountered in descriptions of Indian cooking or recipes for South Asian dishes, although clarified butter is now used internationally. The word is also useful because it identifies a specific cooking product rather than ordinary butter: it is the fat remaining after butter has been clarified.
nounA clarified dairy fat made traditionally by heating butter until the water evaporates and the milk solids separate, leaving a golden-yellow fat with a distinctive aroma.
- A clarified dairy fat obtained by separating water and milk solids from butter, traditionally used in South Asian cooking and now also widely used in international cuisine.
"The dal was served with a spoonful of ghee and fresh bread."
"She spooned melted ghee over the roasted vegetables."
"The restaurant serves traditional curry with rice and ghee."
The plural is rare because ghee is normally used as a mass noun, but it is used when referring to different varieties or quantities of ghee.
"The shop displays several regional varieties of ghees."
Ghee is butter that has been distilled: heating it removes the water and milk solids, leaving behind pure golden fat with a rich, nutty aroma.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does ghee come from?
English ghee was borrowed from Hindi ghi, which in turn derives from Sanskrit ghṛta, an old word for clarified butter. Related forms occur in other South Asian languages, including Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Nepali, and Marathi. The English culinary use is documented from the 19th century, and the word became especially familiar through the growth of South Asian cuisine in Britain and elsewhere.
Related word forms
How ghee is actually used
Ghee is a neutral culinary noun, though it carries strong associations with South Asian food. In British and American English, it is used chiefly in culinary contexts; elsewhere it can also refer more broadly to a similar clarified fat.