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Makhan mishri
Fresh butter with rock sugar
माखन मिश्री: hand-churned white butter with rock sugar for Krishna's Janmashtami offering
Stories from Mathura and Vrindavan tell of the child Krishna stealing butter from the pots of the cowherd women, so at midnight on Janmashtami the first offering in the temples and at home is a bowl of fresh white butter mixed with mishri, the rock-sugar crystals. The butter is churned from cream at home, so it is soft, cool and lightly tangy, and the sugar crunches against it. It is eaten as prasad in tiny spoonfuls, often with a tulsi leaf on top. Common mistake: churning warm cream, which turns greasy instead of breaking; the cream must be fridge-cold, and the butter is ready when yellow-white clumps separate cleanly from thin buttermilk. Chef's tip: rinse the butter in iced water two or three times and press it with a spoon; washing out the buttermilk keeps it fresh for a day.
- Total time
- 15 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the makhan
- 1 ¼ cups double creamvery cold
- 2 cups iced water
To finish
- 3 tbsp mishri (rock sugar crystals)lightly crushed
- 6 tulsi (holy basil) leaves (optional)
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Pour 1 ¼ cups double cream into a cold bowl and whisk with an electric whisk on medium, or churn with a wooden mathani, for 5–8 minutes. It will thicken, turn grainy, then suddenly split into soft pale clumps and thin buttermilk.
8 minStep 2: Gather the clumps into a ball with a spoon and pour off the buttermilk (keep it for chaas).
1 minStep 3: Cover the butter with some of the 2 cups iced water, press it with the back of the spoon, then pour the water away. Repeat twice until the water stays almost clear.
4 minStep 4: Spoon the butter into a small serving bowl and fold in 3 tbsp mishri (rock sugar crystals) just before serving so the crystals stay crunchy. Top with 6 tulsi (holy basil) leaves and offer at midnight.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 230 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does makhan mishri take?
- About 15 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of double cream?
- Whipping cream, same amount (less rich; whips softer).
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Perfect for:Janmashtami