Ghee & Cooking Oils
Ghee for tadka and rotis, groundnut, sesame and mustard oil for regional cooking, and other edible oils, chosen by reading the label carefully.
Edible Ghee
Cow and buffalo ghee, grainy danedar or smooth, for dal tadka, warm rotis, halwa and festive cook…
Groundnut Oil
Mild, nutty groundnut oil, the everyday cooking and frying oil of Gujarati and many South Indian…
Sesame Oil
Light golden gingelly or til oil, the nalla ennai of Tamil kitchens, used for tempering, idli pod…
Mustard Oil
Sharp, pungent mustard oil, sarson ka tel, the cooking fat behind Bengali fish curries, Punjabi s…
Other Approved Edible Oils
Coconut oil for Kerala cooking, sunflower, rice bran, soybean and blended edible oils, for kitche…
Ask a cook in Kolkata, one in Chennai and one in Rajkot what they fry in, and you will probably hear three different answers: mustard oil, sesame oil and groundnut oil. The fat in the kadhai is one of the quiet things that makes regional food taste regional, and that is why this ghee and cooking oils section is arranged by type.
Ghee, clarified butter made by simmering butter until the milk solids brown and separate, is the fat for tadka, dal, rotis and sweets across the country. Groundnut oil is the everyday frying oil of Gujarat and much of the south. Sesame oil, called gingelly or nalla ennai, is used in Tamil and Andhra cooking and in pickles. Mustard oil, sharp and pungent, carries Bengali, Bihari and Punjabi food. A separate group covers other edible oils such as coconut, sunflower and rice bran.
Edible oils and ghee are regulated foods in India, so the label is your main tool. Read the ingredients to see if it is a single oil or a blend, note terms like cold-pressed or kachi ghani as the maker describes them, and make sure the FSSAI licence, the packer's or producer's address, the packing date and a use-by guide are all printed clearly.
Store all fats tightly closed, away from the stove's heat and from sunlight, so they do not go rancid.