The transformation of spices, lentils, heady tomato, yoghurt and onion laden curries starts and ends with oil in Indian cooking. The sizzle of hot oil as the first ingredients meet it kickstarts the journey, while oil escaping to the surface at conclusion confirms the ingredients have happily integrated. In between there is more magical tranformation under way.
There are several oils used in Indian cooking, and each has its own unique properties and usage depending on geography and taste. Importantly, while you may not need a lot of oil for every recipe you will need a sensible amount to cook raw ingredients like onion. I don’t usually deep fry at home and if I want to cook something quickly and with less oil, I tend to forgo onions.
This is what you need to know to get started with oils:
Pick oils with high smoking points if cooking or frying with them. Smoking point is the temperature at which they burn
Think about taste profile as this will impact the recipe and the dish
Oils are not interchangeable unless they are flavourless and of a similar smoking point
I mostly steer clear of health benefits in my descriptors, as I am one for moderation and no scientist/nutritionist but do feel free to do your research on saturated fats, fatty chain acids and more. Here are the main ones to consider for your cupboard and your Indian cooking, with some myth busters:
Neutral oil
The most commonly used neutral, i.e. flavourless and colourless, oil across India is sunflower oil. Corn or refined rapeseed oil (vegetable oil) can also be used. As it tolerates a high heat and doesn’t interfere with taste, it’s a great choice for cooking. If your onions are taking too long to caramelise, chances are you need a dash more of neutral oil to move the process along. Sunflower oil can also be re used. If you do, let the remaining oil cool, strain it into a container when cold and reheat it for use later.
Peanut and groundnut oil is also a neutral oil used in the West of India. Highly refined versions are safe for peanut allergy sufferers but you’ll need to check the label of course.
Coconut oil
Popularly used in Coastal areas of India, this is sold confusingly in several versions pure, raw, organic, virgin and extra virgin. The pure version is a refined cooking oil, flavourless and with a high smoking point. The word pure is used for marketing purposes, with little actual meaning.
The one to get for breezy coconut palm vibes is raw, unrefined (also sold as virgin) coconut oil. Interestingly, unlike olive oil, there is no difference between “virgin” or “extra virgin” in the status of coconut oil. It solidifies in cold weather, and I use it solid loaded onto a measuring spoon before letting it melt in a hot pan.
Ghee
Ghee is literally the oil of the gods and liquid gold for all feasts. A carrier for heavenly sweets and buttery treats, I will not entertain dal without it. Like coconut oil, it is solid in cold weather and best loaded onto a spoon directly from the jar and used like butter. It was named a superfood by India’s most prominent nutritionist Rujuta Diwekar owing to its anti-inflammatory and digestive properties. She also recommends it for deep frying as it’s “the most powerful antioxidant on Earth”. Be warned this could quickly become an expensive habit outside India and ghee does have a buttery taste it will impart on everything.
Not all ghee is made equal. At its simplest it is clarified butter, warmed until the water in it evaporates and the milk solids separate. Lactose and casein free for those intolerant and infuses dishes with the purest form and taste of butter fat.
However, Asli (real) or Desi Ghee is cultured, clarified butter and is even easier to digest and full of probiotic goodness not to mention a rich nutty intensity for garnishes and toppings. It is made by fermenting fresh double cream with yoghurt culture, churned into butter, and then clarified until the golden milk solids settle on the bottom. It is less commonly found on shop shelves but makes a fine project for the home kitchen (I have a method in my cookbook Masala). This is best added a garnish to steaming hot rice or brushed on flatbreads for full magical effect.
Look out for artisan small batch producers like Super Ghee, Happy Butter Ghee and Ghee Appetit in the UK who are popularising ghee with some very interesting flavours in the mix too. Ghee Appetit is plotting the launch of a raw, cultured ghee which I am very excited about!
Mustard oil
Mustard oil is used extensively for cooking in Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Kashmir and more. It has a pungent tang to it and boasts antibacterial and antifungal properties. In the West, it is sold with a scary label warning “for external use only”. This is owing to inconclusive scientific research conducted on lab rats on the presence and toxicity of the erucic acid in the oil. As we are not lab rats and mostly likely to use it in moderation, there isn’t anything to worry about. But if you are, there are blended versions of mustard oil available widely.
Gingelly or Sesame oil
A lightweight and pale oil, this is quite different to the Chinese Sesame oil. It is used as a neutral oil in South India and in their pickles, where it acts as a natural preservative. In the North of India, mustard oil is more commonly used for pickles.
I never did reach for my EVOO to cook Indian food, even though it was trendy in my social circles for a while, as I wouldn’t use mustard oil to make pasta. Saying that, there is another good reason to avoid olive oil when cooking Indian food. It has a low smoking point and specific flavour, which don’t make it the most practical or savoury of choices.
Cookings oils are also used for their hair and skin benefits. My mother swears by coconut oil hair massages, and many a mustard oil tummy rub cured my aches when I was little, but these are all subjects for another time.
Looking for it to cook with in Indian emporia (in Holland), I have seen mustard oil advertised as a hair product instead.