Nallennai in English: Cold-Pressed Sesame (Gingelly) Oil
Sources: NIN Hyderabad, ICMR, USDA FoodData Central
📖 12 min read · In this article:
- Nallennai, gingelly, til — same oil across Indian languages
- How cold-pressed sesame oil is made (vs refined)
- Health benefits: what the research shows
- How to use it in Indian cooking (and when not to)
- How to spot pure cold-pressed sesame oil
- Storage and shelf life
- Sesame oil vs other Indian cooking oils
- Where to buy cold-pressed sesame oil online
- Frequently Asked Questions
Your grandmother called it nallennai. Your aaya called it gingelly. The bottle in the supermarket says “til oil refined.” All three words point to the same seed — but only one of those bottles still carries what makes the oil worth pouring on your food.
This guide pulls together the names across Indian languages, the difference between cold-pressed, refined, and bull-driven extraction, the science on health benefits (with Indian sources where available), the actual smoke-point limits you should respect in the kitchen, and a short trust-test you can run on any bottle in 60 seconds. By the end, you’ll know what to buy, what to cook with it, and what to walk past on the supermarket shelf.
If you already know what you want, our cold-pressed sesame oil is unrefined and single-ingredient. If you’d rather understand first, read on.
1. Nallennai, gingelly, til — the same oil across Indian languages
Nalla ennai in English: “Nalla ennai” (Tamil: நல்லெண்ணெய், also written nallennai) literally means “good oil.” It is the Tamil name for cold-pressed sesame oil — the same oil sold in English as gingelly oil, til oil or simply sesame oil. So whether a label reads nalla ennai, nallennai, gingelly oil or sesame oil, it is one and the same oil pressed from sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds.
People search for sesame oil in their mother tongue. Brands sell it in English. That gap is half the reason buyers end up with the wrong bottle. Here are the names you’ll see across Indian kitchens:
| Language | Common name | Script |
|---|---|---|
| Tamil | Nallennai / Ellu Ennai | நல்லெண்ணெய் / எள் எண்ணெய் |
| Telugu | Nuvvula Nune | నువ్వుల నూనె |
| Kannada | Ellenne | ಎಳ್ಳೆಣ್ಣೆ |
| Malayalam | Ellenna | എള്ളെണ്ണ |
| Hindi | Til Ka Tel | तिल का तेल |
| Marathi | Til Tel | तीळ तेल |
| Bengali | Til Tel | তিল তেল |
| English | Sesame Oil / Gingelly Oil | — |
Why is sesame oil called gingelly oil? “Gingelly” is an older Indian-English word for the sesame plant; dictionaries trace it to Hindi or Marathi and ultimately to the Arabic jiljilān (Wiktionary). “Sesame” comes from the Greek sesamon. Both name Sesamum indicum. The seed comes in two main shades — pale white and black — and oil from either is still sesame oil; its colour and aroma depend on the seed and on whether it was roasted before pressing.
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2. How cold-pressed sesame oil is made (vs refined)
Three extraction methods are sold in Indian shops today. They all start with the same seed and end up with very different oils.
Cold-pressed (modern expeller). Cleaned seed is fed into a stainless-steel screw press. The press squeezes the oil out mechanically, without external heating. No solvent, no bleaching, no deodorising. The oil that drips out is dark amber, fragrant, and slightly cloudy — that cloudiness is unfiltered seed micro-particles, not a defect.
Bull-driven (marachekku / ghani). A large wooden mortar with a stone or wooden pestle, turned slowly by a bullock walking in a circle. Slower than an expeller and made in small batches; the price reflects the time. We sell both because each has its place — bull-driven sesame oil for finishing and special occasions, cold-pressed sesame oil for everyday cooking.
Refined. Industrial extraction usually starts with a hexane wash to pull oil out of the seed cake at high efficiency. The crude oil is then degummed, neutralised with caustic soda, bleached with clay, and steam-deodorised at 230–250°C. What comes out is colourless, odourless, and shelf-stable for years. It’s also stripped of most of the antioxidants and aroma compounds that made the original seed worth pressing.
| Method | Press temp. | Antioxidants kept | Shelf life | Taste |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold-pressed (expeller) | No external heat | Most | ~6 months | Nutty, fragrant |
| Bull-driven (marachekku) | No external heat; slow crush | Most | ~5–6 months | Most pronounced |
| Refined / processed | 230–250°C deodoriser | Largely lost | 1–2 years | Neutral / none |
Try the everyday workhorse
Unrefined, single-ingredient sesame oil for everyday tempering and rice dishes.
Shop cold-pressed sesame oil3. Health benefits: what the research does and doesn’t show
Sesame oil has been studied more than most Indian cooking oils, but most of the studies are small. Here is what they found — and how far it goes. This is general information, not medical advice.
Blood pressure
A small study in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine (Sankar et al., 2006) gave 50 people with high blood pressure, already on medication, sesame oil as their only cooking oil for 45 days. Their blood pressure came down, and went back up when they stopped; cholesterol did not change significantly apart from triglycerides. There was no separate control group, so treat it as a promising signal, not proof.
Antioxidant lignans
Sesame oil contains lignans such as sesamin and sesamolin, and sesamol. They are being studied for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, mostly in laboratory and animal studies. Warm sesame oil massage for stiff joints is a long tradition — a tradition, not a proven treatment.
Blood sugar
An open-label study in India (Clinical Nutrition, 2011) followed 60 people with type 2 diabetes for 60 days; those who cooked with sesame oil (about 35 g a day) alongside their medicine had better blood-sugar readings. It was small and not blinded, so it is not proof — and nobody should change diabetes treatment because of it. For the wider diet, see our guide to millets for diabetes.
Hair and scalp
Warming sesame oil and massaging it into the scalp is a long Ayurvedic tradition. Evidence for specific hair benefits of sesame oil is limited, so treat it as a conditioning routine rather than a treatment. Once or twice a week is plenty.
Skin
Used as a winter body oil, sesame holds heat against the skin and is the base oil for most traditional abhyanga massage. It’s heavier than coconut and groundnut, so it works better in cold months and on dry skin types.
4. How to use cold-pressed sesame oil in Indian cooking (and when not to)
Cold-pressed sesame oil shines in three roles: tempering, finishing, and as the base for South Indian rice mixes. It does not belong in a deep-fryer.
Tempering (tadka / thalippu)
Heat the oil till it shimmers but doesn’t smoke. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, dried red chilli, curry leaves — in that order. The aroma the seeds release in cold-pressed sesame oil is noticeably louder than in refined oil. This is the single best argument for cold-pressed in everyday cooking: the oil is also a flavouring agent.
South Indian rice mixes
Puliyodarai (tamarind rice), ellu sadam (sesame rice), bisi bele bath, lemon rice — all of them ask for sesame oil. Refined oil works mechanically; cold-pressed oil makes the dish.
Salads, chutneys, raw drizzles
A teaspoon stirred into hot rice or drizzled over a tomato chutney just before serving lifts the whole plate. Because cold-pressed oil has the flavour intact, even a small quantity registers.
Seven dishes that need cold-pressed sesame oil
Puliyodarai
Tamarind rice. The classic Iyengar/Iyer temple recipe. Sesame oil quantity is generous — this is the dish where the oil is the dish.
Ellu sadam
Roasted sesame seed rice. Gingelly oil drizzled on top finishes the flavour.
Idli podi (gunpowder)
The dry powder is mixed with sesame oil at the table. Don’t use refined here — you’ll taste the difference.
Sesame chutney
Roasted sesame, dry chillies, jaggery, salt — ground with a teaspoon of sesame oil.
Nei dosa with gingelly
Brushed on the dosa instead of ghee for a vegan, fragrant version.
Sesame-jaggery ladoo
Winter sweet from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. The oil binds the seed and jaggery into chewy balls.
Hair-scalp warm oil
Not a recipe, a routine. Warm a tablespoon, massage in, leave 30 minutes, wash. Once a week.
5. How to spot pure cold-pressed sesame oil — a 60-second test
Adulteration is real. The cheapest way to fake sesame oil is to dilute refined sunflower or palm with a small splash of sesame for aroma. Five quick tests will catch most fakes.
- Smell. Real cold-pressed sesame oil smells distinctly nutty — almost like roasted sesame ladoo. Refined or diluted oil smells faint, watery, or vaguely chemical.
- Cold test (the most reliable). Pour a tablespoon into a small steel bowl and put it in the fridge for 60 minutes. Real sesame oil clouds slightly and gets thicker; diluted oil with palm or refined sunflower may solidify in patches or stay completely clear (palm sets hard, refined sunflower doesn’t change at all).
- Foam test. Heat a teaspoon in a small pan. Pure cold-pressed sesame oil produces fine, uniform foam at the surface within 30 seconds — the proteins from the unfiltered seed material that survived the press. A perfectly clear, foam-free heating signal usually means heavily refined oil.
- Label red flags. The words “refined”, “edible-grade”, “winterised”, or “blended with X” mean it isn’t cold-pressed. The phrase “extracted using mechanical pressure” on its own isn’t enough — that can describe expeller-pressed oil that’s then refined. Look for “cold-pressed” explicitly, plus a press date or batch date that’s recent.
- Price reality. Genuine cold-pressed sesame oil in India is never cheap at the consumer level — sesame seed itself is a costly raw material, and the seed-to-oil yield is roughly 40–45%. Anything advertised as “cold-pressed sesame” at a price close to refined oil is very likely to be diluted or mislabelled.
If you’d rather skip the testing
Our sesame oil is unrefined and single-ingredient. Pour a teaspoon, smell it, and you’ll know.
Shop Orggu cold-pressed sesame oil6. Storage and shelf life
Three rules will keep cold-pressed sesame oil at its best for the full window:
- Keep it in glass — the original bottle is fine. Plastic, especially in heat, leaches into oil over months.
- Out of direct sunlight and away from the stove flame. A dark cupboard at room temperature is ideal. The fridge isn’t necessary in most Indian conditions; oil pulled cold from the fridge will be sluggish to pour.
- Use within 6 months of the press date for full flavour. The oil is still safe past that, but the antioxidant load and aroma start to taper.
If you ever notice a sharp, paint-like, or sour odour — that’s rancidity. Discard. Sesame oil rancidity is rare in well-made cold-pressed oil because of its native antioxidants; if it happens, the cause is usually heat, sun, or a press batch that was already old when bought. The reason supermarket refined oil keeps for 18–24 months is that almost nothing flavourful is left to oxidise — that’s a clue, not a feature.
7. Sesame oil vs other Indian cooking oils — a side-by-side
| Oil | Smoke point (cold-pressed) | Dominant fat | Best use | Flavour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sesame | ~177°C | Polyunsaturated (omega-6) + oleic | Tempering, rice mixes, finishing | Nutty, distinctive |
| Groundnut (peanut) | Varies; lower when unrefined | Monounsaturated | Deep-frying, all-purpose | Mild, slightly sweet |
| Coconut | ~175°C | Saturated (medium-chain) | Kerala curries, baking, oil pulling | Sweet, distinctive |
| Mustard | ~250°C (high) | Monounsaturated + erucic | Bengali, Punjabi, pickling | Pungent, sharp |
| Refined sunflower | ~230°C | Polyunsaturated | Frying, neutral cooking | None |
Smoke points are approximate published figures for unrefined oils (refined sunflower excepted); they vary by source and batch (source). The point of this table isn’t to crown one winner. A well-stocked Indian kitchen rotates oils because each one’s fat profile and smoke-point window is different. Sesame and coconut for South Indian cooking and tempering. Groundnut for frying. Mustard for pickles, fish curries, and Bengali cooking.
For more on this, read our deeper comparison: cold-pressed oil benefits explained, and the refined vs cold-pressed oil breakdown. If you want to see how the bull-driven version differs from machine cold-pressed, see our piece on bull-driven oil (marachekku).
8. Where to buy cold-pressed sesame oil online in India
The cold-pressed oil category online is now full of bottles labelled “wood-pressed”, “ghani”, “chekku”, “kachi ghani”, and a dozen other words that don’t map to any standard. Two practical rules narrow the field:
- The press date should be on the bottle. Without it, you don’t know if the oil sat in a warehouse for four months. With it, you’re anchored to the 6-month freshness window above.
- The brand should answer questions about the source seed. Cold-pressed sesame oil’s quality begins at the farm. If the brand can’t name a seed origin, treat the “cold-pressed” claim with caution.
Orggu’s sesame oil comes in two versions, cold-pressed and bull-driven, both unrefined. Free delivery in Bangalore. Cash on delivery in Bangalore; prepaid elsewhere in India. Browse the full range on the cold-pressed sesame oil (gingelly oil) collection — you’ll find both the everyday cold-pressed and the small-batch bull-driven versions there.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions Orggu customers ask most often. For the basics — what is gingelly oil, is it good for cooking — see our collection FAQ.
Is gingelly oil the same as sesame oil?
Yes. Gingelly oil, sesame oil, til oil and nallennai are all names for the same oil, pressed from sesame (Sesamum indicum) seeds. “Gingelly” is an older Indian-English word for sesame (Wiktionary). What differs between bottles is how the oil was made — cold pressed or refined — not the name on the label. Both kinds of gingelly oil we sell are unrefined.
What is nuvvula nune, til oil, ellu ennai or yellu yenne called in English?
They are all sesame oil (also called gingelly oil). Nuvvula nune (నువ్వుల నూనె) is Telugu, til ka tel or til oil (तिल का तेल) is Hindi, ellu ennai (எள் எண்ணெய்) is Tamil — where it is also called nallennai (நல்லெண்ணெய்) — yellu yenne or ellina enne (ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಎಣ್ಣೆ) is Kannada, and ellenna (എള്ളെണ്ണ) is Malayalam.
What is gingelly oil called in Kannada, Telugu and Tamil?
In Kannada gingelly oil is ellina enne (ಎಳ್ಳಿನ ಎಣ್ಣೆ), often written yellu yenne or ellenne. In Telugu it is nuvvula nune (నువ్వుల నూనె). In Tamil both sesame oil and gingelly oil are nallennai (நல்லெண்ணெய்) or ellu ennai (எள் எண்ணெய்).
Is black sesame oil different from regular sesame oil?
It is still sesame oil from the same plant; "black" refers to the colour of the seed coat (black sesame is karuppu ellu, கருப்பு எள், in Tamil). Oil from black or white seed can differ a little in colour and aroma, and roasting the seed before pressing changes the flavour much more than the seed colour does.
Can sesame oil be used for deep frying?
No — cold-pressed sesame oil’s smoke point is around 175–177°C, which is below most deep-frying ranges. For deep frying, groundnut oil is the usual choice — fry at a steady medium to medium-high flame rather than letting the oil smoke, fry in batches, and don’t reuse oil that has darkened or smells burnt. Reserve sesame oil for tempering, sauteing, and finishing.
What is the smoke point of cold-pressed sesame oil?
Roughly 175–177°C for cold-pressed light sesame oil. Refined sesame oil generally smokes at a higher temperature but loses its aroma and part of its natural compounds in refining. For high-heat cooking, switch oils.
How much sesame oil per day is healthy?
There is no official target. In the small studies above, sesame oil replaced other cooking oil (about 35 g a day in one of them) rather than being added on top. Keep your total oil moderate, whichever oil you use.
Is sesame oil safe for diabetics?
As a cooking oil in normal amounts, yes. One small open-label study (Clinical Nutrition, 2011) reported better blood-sugar readings when people with type 2 diabetes cooked with sesame oil alongside their medicine — promising, but not proof. Don’t change treatment because of it; see our guide to millets for diabetes for the wider diet.
Sesame oil for hair — does it really work?
Warm sesame oil scalp massage has lasted in Ayurvedic practice for centuries; evidence for specific hair benefits is limited, so treat it as a conditioning routine. Once a week is enough. Warm slightly, massage 5–10 minutes, leave 30 minutes, then wash.
Why does my sesame oil cloud in the fridge?
Cold-pressed sesame oil contains natural waxes and saturated fractions that firm up at fridge temperatures. Light cloudiness in a refrigerated bottle is a good sign — it tells you the oil isn’t fully refined or winterised. The oil clears again at room temperature.
Why is real cold-pressed sesame oil more expensive?
Sesame seed itself is a costly raw material, and the seed-to-oil yield is only 40–45%. Cold-pressing produces less oil per kg of seed than chemical extraction. Add bottling, freshness handling, and short shelf life — and the honest price is well above refined oil.
How do I know if my sesame oil is pure?
Run the cold test: refrigerate a tablespoon for an hour. Real cold-pressed sesame clouds and thickens. Palm-diluted oil sets hard; sunflower-diluted oil stays thin and clear. Combined with the smell test (nutty, not faint) and a recent press date on the bottle, that’s a reliable check.
Is light sesame oil the same as dark sesame oil?
Light sesame oil is pressed from raw white sesame seeds and is mild in flavour — closer to a cooking oil. Dark sesame oil (often labelled toasted sesame oil) is pressed from roasted seeds and is intensely flavoured — used as a finishing oil, especially in East Asian cuisine. South Indian cold-pressed nallennai is usually pressed from unroasted seed and sits between the two.
Does cold-pressed sesame oil need to be refrigerated?
Not in normal Indian conditions. A glass bottle in a cool, dark cupboard is enough. Refrigerate only in extreme heat or if the bottle will sit unused for more than 6 months. Pour at room temperature — cold sesame oil is sluggish.
The oil you cook with shapes the food you eat three times a day. A bottle that costs a little more isn’t a luxury — it’s the oil your everyday cooking deserves.
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Cold pressed sesame oil — nallennai, unrefined
Cold-Pressed Sesame Oil · Bull-Driven Sesame Oil
Unrefined — not bleached or deodorised. Cold pressed, or bull driven in a marachekku.
Browse the full Sesame Oil collection — or compare with groundnut and coconut.
