Gingelly (Sesame) Oil

Gingelly is the South Indian name for sesame oil pressed from raw, untoasted sesame seeds. It is golden and mild with a light nutty note, quite unlike the dark toasted sesame oil used in Chinese and Korean cooking, which is a seasoning and not a frying oil. Tamil cooks call it nallennai, meaning good oil, and Telugu cooks nuvvula nune. It belongs with the cooking oils in our oils and ghee department.

Nallennai is used for tempering mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves, for frying vadai and appalam, for the oil drizzled over idli podi, and for preserving pickles such as mango thokku, where it seals the top of the jar. Refined and filtered gingelly is light and clear; wood pressed or chekku gingelly, such as that from Rigel, is cloudier with a deeper sesame aroma. Idhayam is a long established Tamil name for sesame oil.

Many Tamil homes keep gingelly beside groundnut oil and coconut oil, choosing by dish. Gingelly can be heated for frying, but it has a lower smoke point than refined oils, so medium heat keeps the flavour sweet. For a neutral frying oil, see sunflower oil.

Store gingelly away from light, and always use a dry spoon in a pickle jar topped with it, since a drop of water is enough to spoil the seal.