oil is an integral part of Indian cooking but which cooking oil do you use? are you using Refined Oil, sunflower oil, coconut oil or olive oil if yes then read this useful article as today I’m going to share with you the healthiest oil for cooking. Which is the best cooking oil in the Indian market? I have been getting a lot of messages asking the best oil for cooking so I thought let’s write this article.
Cooking oil is something which we Indians use daily so it is most important to use a healthy oil however, if you are not using the right oil for cooking then it can become the reason for gaining weight, heart blockage, diabetes and even cancer. if you would ask me what is that one thing which can take a health to the next level without making any effort I will say change the oil you cook your food in.
Which cooking oil is good for health ?
Unfortunately over 90% of the people today are using refined oil for cooking almost every sunflower, rice bran, groundnuts I have been found in the Indian market is a refined oil but what is wrong with refined oils? Well the word refined may seem very sophisticated term but in medical terms refined oil is referred to as spoiled oil. “Yes” refining an oil is a multi-stage process. first of all the oil is extracted at a very high temperature of over 200 degree Celsius using chemical solvents in this process all the vitamins and minerals of the oil are destroyed the healthy fatty acid bonds are broken and trans fats are formed the process, doesn’t stop here the oil extracted is again heated at very high temperature to neutralize the taste and remove the order. finally preservatives like TBHQ and empty foaming agents like polydimethylsiloxane are added so what is left behind is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and nutrition less liquid which is packed and sold as refined oil no matter what oil it is once it goes through this refining process it loses all its natural properties its healthy fats turn into trans fats basically the oil gets spoiled. Majority of people today are using this boiling oil 3 to 4 times daily this can lead to very serious health problems in the long run if you have refined oil in your kitchen just throw that out of your kitchen.
Nowadays, people who are a bit health-conscious are switching to olive oil. of course it is due to the intensive marketing by European Union that you can find olive oil all over the Indian supermarkets these days but is olive oil healthy ? yes olive oil is among the healthiest of oils no doubt but living in India I would not recommend it to you for three basic reasons. firstly olive oil is very costly with one litre over 1000 rupees, using it for daily cooking will just rip your pockets apart. Secondly with growing popularity of olive oil it is most prone to adulteration. some tests have revealed that sixty to ninety percent olive oil imported is adulterated. Third and the most important is that, it does not move well with the Indian style of cooking imagine making Paratha in olive oil ! olive oil is great when making something like pasta salads or any other Spanish and Mediterranean dishes but for Indian cooking a “big No”.
So we have seen by refined oils are so bad for health and even I have not recommended you olive oil for Indian cooking so are there any oils in the Indian market which provide us with the healthiest of fatty acids, enhance the flavors of our dishes and not even fat on our pockets? Yes cold pressed or filtered versions of sesame oil, mustard oil, groundnut oil and coconut oil are the healthiest cooking oil for you not only fine but cold-pressed or wood pressed or as we call in India the ‘Kachi Ghani” Versions of these oils are best suited for Indian cooking. Cold pressing is an ancient method in which no heat is involved in the extraction of oils this not only retains the vitamins and minerals of the oils but also its aroma and flavor. This method is required the usage of best quality seed and hence high quality oil is assured. All these oils have high smoking point making them ideal for shallow as well as deep frying.
A few years ago there was a huge marketing campaign run against coconut oil by these refined oil companies as it is high in saturated fat although it turned out to be hoax as the research suggested that coconut oil contains a special type of million chain fatty acids which actually increase the good cholesterol. Today there are over 1500 studies proving coconut oil to be among the healthiest foods on the planet. Even mustard oil has been targeted in the past because it contains 47% erucic acid it has even been bad for edible use in countries like USA, Canada and Europe. The basis of this ban is a study which was conducted on laboratory rats, these rats were fed with mustard oil in very high quantities which caused heart problems in them however, and no harmful effects on humans have been proved till date. Mustard oil has been used as staple in countries like India, Bangladesh, China & Korea for centuries in fact according to a recent study conducted by the doctors of All India Institute of Medical Sciences who compared different oils including olive oil found mustard oil to be the clear winner as it contains an ideal ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids extremely important for reducing heart complications ‘Kachi Ghani’ mustard oil is very easily available in all grocery shops and do you know what’s the best part, it is so affordable living in India.
You can use any of these four oils actually we were using these oils before but due to these misleading marketing campaigns against traditional oils we switched to refined oils. The Cooking oil you use in your kitchen was largely dependent on what region you come from ? in Kerala coconut oil is staple, in Andhra and Rajasthan sesame oil, in north and eastern India mustard oil and in central India and Gujarat groundnut oil is mostly used. If you closely observe not only these cooking oil good for health but also enhance the flavors of the local ingredients and recipes for your convenience.
I’ve hand-picked the best cold-pressed oils in the Indian market and link them down in this article.
This Article would have been incomplete without talking about the “golden butter oil” called “Desi Ghee” with highest smoking point among all cooking oil oils. Ghee is the best for all types of cooking. Did you know that no oil should be reused except Ghee.
Ghee is the only one which enjoys this status and if you thought that Ghee makes you fat it increases your cholesterol then you might be wrong. Ghee is sold in the United States as a premium cooking oil with the name clarified “butter” the only downside of ghee is that it might not be an affordable option for daily cooking, but if you can afford it nothing like it and when I say Ghee I mean Desi Cow Ghee.
Summaries;
- Refined oil is the worst oil for cooking in my opinion and they should be banned.
- Olive Oil is healthy but costly and not really suitable for Indian cooking.
- The cold-pressed versions of mustard, sesame, coconut and groundnut oils are the best suitable for Indian cooking.
- Ghee is a bit expensive but ideal for all types of cooking.
Conclusion
Best healthy cooking oil for Indian cooking …
- ‘Kachi Ghani’ Mustard Oil
- Cold Pressed Coconut Oil
- Cold Pressed Sesame Oil
- Cold Pressed Groundnut Oil
- Desi Cow Ghee
So start using cold pressed cooking oil, since it is the easiest step you can take towards the healthy lifestyle which oil will you use now? Let me know in the comment section.
