Cooking oil: Wondering which oil works best for sambar, pulikuzhambu, vathakuzhambu, or fish curry? Find out exactly where you should use sesame oil, groundnut oil, coconut oil, and others to make your daily meals tastier.
Every gravy has a unique taste. You must choose the right cooking oil to enhance this flavour. You can change the oil for the same gravy and see the huge difference in taste. Cooking oil does not just add fat. It changes the aroma, taste, spice level, colour, and final output of your dish.
Traditional Tamil Nadu cooking gives a special place to sesame oil, coconut oil, and groundnut oil. You can pair sesame oil with pulikuzhambu, coconut oil with fish curry, and groundnut oil with sambar for the best results.
You can also learn how to use mustard oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil, and olive oil to make your daily meals even more delicious.
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Where can you use sesame oil?
Sesame oil
Does your homemade vathakuzhambu lack that hotel-like aroma and taste? You just need to change the oil. Sesame oil blends naturally with tamarind, chillies, and fenugreek. It gives a unique identity to traditional South Indian gravies.
You can use sesame oil perfectly for:
Pulikuzhambu
Vathakuzhambu
Sesame gravy
Pepper gravy
Garlic gravy
Curry leaves gravy
Brinjal pulikuzhambu
Fenugreek gravy
Sesame oil brings together the tanginess of tamarind, the heat of chillies, and the aroma of fenugreek. It gives a deep flavour to the gravy. Many people immediately remember the aroma of sesame oil when they think of traditional vathakuzhambu.
The aroma of the oil floating on top of a boiling gravy will easily trigger your hunger. You should use sesame oil in the right amounts for gravies that have lots of tamarind and spices.
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Groundnut oil
Do you want great taste in everything from daily sambar to spicy gravies using just one oil? Groundnut oil serves as a very convenient choice for your kitchen.
You can use groundnut oil perfectly for daily dishes like:
Sambar
Dal gravy
Vegetable gravy
Potato gravy
Spicy gravy (Kara kuzhambu)
Onion gravy
Tomato gravy
You get a unique aroma and taste when you sauté spices in groundnut oil. This enhances the overall taste of the gravy. Many people use groundnut oil for their daily South Indian cooking because of this reason. It acts as a single reliable oil for everything from sambar to spicy gravies.
Coconut oil gives a rich aroma and traditional taste to your gravies.
Do you like the aroma of coconut? You should add coconut oil to your gravy once, and your whole kitchen will smell amazing. Coconut oil blends naturally with dishes that use a lot of coconut. It gives a special taste to traditional cooking.
You can use coconut oil perfectly for:
Fish curry
Coconut milk gravy
Kerala style vegetable gravy
Aviyal
Vegetable stew (a great side dish for appam and idiyappam)
Certain spinach-based gravies
Gravies that use a lot of coconut
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Coconut oil and sesame oil
You get a double treat of aroma and taste when you mix coconut oil and sesame oil.
Do you want more than just one oil's aroma? You can mix two traditional oils to make your gravy taste even better. You get a very unique taste for traditional gravies when you combine the aroma of coconut oil with the special taste of sesame oil.
You can use a small amount of this oil mix for dishes like:
Tangy fish curry
Spicy fish curry
Brinjal gravy
Country vegetable gravies
The aroma from coconut oil and the unique taste from sesame oil join together to give a wonderful traditional flavour to your gravy.
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Sunflower oil
Do you want the gravy's taste to stand out without any strong oil aroma? You can use sunflower oil for your daily cooking in that case.
Sunflower oil has a mild taste. You can use it suitably for daily dishes like:
Sambar
Rasam tempering
Vegetable gravy
Dal gravy
Tomato gravy
You can choose this oil if you do not want any strong, unique oil smell in your food. Sunflower oil works as a versatile option for cooking various daily meals.
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Rice bran oil
An all-rounder for daily gravies
Do you want the original taste of the gravy to shine brightly without the oil's flavour taking over? Rice bran oil can be a great choice for your kitchen.
It does not have a strong individual aroma or heavy taste. You can use it for:
Daily sambar
Vegetable gravy
Dal
Rasam
Tomato gravy
Mixed vegetable gravies
This oil has a relatively neutral taste. You will find it perfect if you want the flavours of spices like chillies, coriander, cumin, and turmeric to take the front seat in your gravy.
You can use rice bran oil for cooking when you want to protect the natural taste of the food without adding extra flavours.
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Mustard oil
You take your gravy's taste to another level when you use mustard oil. You should try making fish curry, vegetable gravy, or pickles in mustard oil. Its unique aroma and slightly pungent taste give a fantastic flavour to the food.
You can perfectly match mustard oil with Bengali and North Indian fish curries, mustard spice gravies, Punjabi style vegetable gravies, and pickles.
This oil holds a special place in traditional North Indian cooking. Its strong aroma and taste give a unique identity to the food.
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Olive oil
Olive oil is a smart choice for light meals
Do you want to avoid heavy masala flavours and cook something light with a different taste? You can try using olive oil for some specific dishes.
You will find olive oil suitable for:
Light vegetable soups
Vegetable stews
Certain gravy types
Its unique taste gives a different flavour to light, vegetable-centric meals. However, you might change the traditional taste and aroma if you use olive oil in regular sambar, vathakuzhambu, or fish curry.
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Coconut oil + Groundnut oil
Do you want your fish curry and fish fry to be even more aromatic and tasty? You should try using a measured mix of groundnut oil and coconut oil. The qualities of both oils combine to give a beautiful traditional taste to the food.
You will find this oil blend suitable for:
Fish fry
Fish curry
Spicy vegetable gravies
Coastal style cooking
You can use coconut oil alone if you love its unique aroma. But you can mix it with groundnut oil if you do not want the coconut smell to be too strong. This reduces the coconut aroma slightly and blends it with the mild taste of groundnut oil.
