Cold Pressed Sesame Oil (Gingelly Oil / Nallennai)

Gingelly oil, nallennai, til ka tel — one oil, many names

"Gingelly" is an old English word for sesame that stayed in everyday use in South India, so gingelly oil and sesame oil are the same oil. In Tamil it is nallennai or nalla ennai — literally "good oil" — and also ellu ennai; the other names are in the table below. Labels differ in two ways that do matter: whether the oil is unrefined or refined, and whether the seeds were roasted first. The very dark "toasted sesame oil" of Chinese and Korean cooking is pressed from roasted seed and is used a few drops at a time; South Indian gingelly oil is a cooking oil in its own right.

Our guide nallennai, gingelly and til oil explained goes through each name and how the oils differ.

Bull driven vs cold pressed vs refined sesame oil

How our sesame oil is made

The bull driven oil comes from a village-style chekku: sesame is fed a handful at a time into a wooden mortar while bullocks turn the pestle, and the oil that runs out is settled and filled without refining. The cold pressed oil is also filled unrefined; we will add which press it comes from, which seed (black or white) and where the seed is grown once confirmed.

Black sesame or white sesame oil?

Sesame oil is pressed from black, white or mixed seed. Oil from black sesame (karu ellu in Tamil, kala til in Hindi) is usually darker and stronger in taste; oil from white seed is lighter in colour. Both are gingelly oil, and in Tamil Nadu the traditional chekku nallennai is commonly made from black seed. We will say which seed our oils are pressed from as soon as it is confirmed, rather than guess.

Sesame oil nutrition per 100 g

Source: USDA FoodData Central, “Oil, sesame, salad or cooking” (FDC ID 171016), fdc.nal.usda.gov. These are reference values for the oil in general, not a lab test of our bottles; the fat make-up comes from the seed, so cold pressed and refined oil are close on these lines, while minor components such as vitamin E can differ. One tablespoon is roughly 13–14 g.

Sesame oil is split almost evenly between monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat, with a little more saturated fat than groundnut oil and much less than coconut oil. Use it, like any oil, in moderation; this is general information, not medical advice. On smoke point, figures in print vary widely; unrefined gingelly oil is traditionally used for tempering and shallow cooking rather than long deep frying.

How South Indian kitchens use gingelly oil

• Kuzhambu and rasam — mustard, fenugreek and curry leaves tempered in nallennai, with a spoon more stirred in at the end of a vathal kuzhambu.
• Idli podi — milagai podi mixed with gingelly oil beside idli or dosa.
• Pickles — Tamil pickles and Andhra avakkai, sealed under a layer of oil.
• The oil bath — many families keep nallennai for the weekly oil bath and for oil pulling. These are traditions; we make no health claims for them.

Checking sesame oil at home

Unrefined sesame oil smells clearly of sesame and can leave a thin layer of sediment; its colour depends on the seed and the batch. Home "purity tests" — freezing, paper, mixing with water — cannot prove that an oil is unblended, so look for an FSSAI licence on the label (ours: 21224194003133) and buy from a seller who will tell you how the oil is pressed. Ask us on WhatsApp for any report we have.

Sesame oil price per litre

Sesame seed costs more than groundnut, so sesame oil is dearer per litre with every brand. Between our two, the bull driven oil costs more because a bullock-turned chekku presses slowly and yields little in a day. Searching "til ka tel price"? These are our live prices for 500 ml and 1 litre.

Steel vessel and storage

The bull driven sesame oil also comes in a 1 litre steel vessel — ask us on WhatsApp how it can be returned or reused. Store either oil closed, away from sun and stove, and finish it by the best-before date; refrigeration is not needed.

Delivery

We deliver across India. Free delivery in Bangalore · Ships across India in 2–10 business days (charges at checkout). Cash on delivery in Bangalore; prepaid elsewhere in India. New customers: ₹50 OFF on your first order of ₹289+.