Bilona refers to the wooden hand-churner traditionally used in Indian households to churn curd into butter. The Bilona method is the centuries-old process of making ghee from that hand-churned butter – not from cream separated by a machine, which is how most commercial ghee is made today.

The full process looks like this:

1. Milk is set into curd (dahi) using a natural culture and left to ferment overnight.
2. The curd is hand-churned in a bilona using a back-and-forth motion until the butter (makhan) separates from the buttermilk (chaas).
3. The butter is slow-cooked over low heat, traditionally in small batches, until the milk solids caramelise slightly and the golden liquid ghee remains.
4. The ghee is strained and cooled naturally.

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