Recently saw a recipe for a spicy lentil dal that uses clarified butter. What is the reason for clarified butter over reg.whole butter?

ghee is so rich tasting, silky and unctuous. it will make you feel ok about using a small amount of saturated fat.

And ghee makes a dish like this taste better . . . . I use it all the time, especially in dishes like this, for precisely the reason stated by Panfusine. ;o)

Lori is right, almost certainly the original recipe would have called the clarified butter Ghee. but the reason for using clarified butter is that with the milk solids removed, the butter has a much higher flash point. Which means it doesn't burn so easily.

Here is the link. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/food-republic/foodie-terminology_b_1132354.html?ref=food#s529898&title=A_Acidulated_Affinage

Ghee is a type of Clarified butter...and Ghee was probably called for in the original recipe. Check out the 50 words every food lover should know in the news section here....Ghee and Gastropod I knew...

Clarified butter (ghee) has all the protein milk solids removed. You can heat it enough to sputter Cumin which is a seasoning, without the worry of the milk proteins burning up.