Sesame (Sesamum indicum) is one of India's oldest cultivated plants — grown here for over 5,000 years. Sesame oil (til ka tel) appears in Ayurvedic texts as a therapeutic oil, and it remains one of the most used cooking fats in South Indian, Rajasthani, and certain Maharashtrian cuisines.
The confusion begins with an important distinction: there are two fundamentally different sesame oils.
Light Sesame Oil (Cold-Pressed)
Light sesame oil is pressed from raw, unroasted sesame seeds. The colour is pale golden, the flavour is mild with a light nutty note, and the aroma is subtle. This is the sesame oil used for cooking in quantity — for tempering, for sautéing, for pickles.
Cold-pressed light sesame oil is one of the more nutritionally interesting cooking oils: it contains sesamol and sesamin, naturally occurring lignans with antioxidant properties that also extend the oil's shelf life. Sesame oil is among the most oxidation-resistant of the common cold-pressed oils precisely because of these compounds.
Dark Sesame Oil (Toasted/Roasted)
Dark sesame oil is pressed or extracted from roasted sesame seeds. The colour ranges from amber to deep brown; the flavour is intense — concentrated, almost smoky sesame. This is a finishing oil, not a cooking oil.
Dark sesame oil is used in Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine primarily as a flavour addition (it's what gives many Chinese dishes their characteristic aroma). In Indian cooking, it's less traditional but increasingly used as a finishing drizzle.
Do not cook with dark sesame oil. The roasted compounds that give it its flavour are also heat-sensitive and degrade at cooking temperatures, producing off-flavours and losing the point of using it.
Traditional Uses in Indian Cooking
Rajasthani and Haryanvi cuisine uses sesame oil as the primary cooking fat — it handles the high heat of traditional cooking and pairs well with the robust spicing of the region.
South Indian cooking uses gingelly oil (another name for cold-pressed sesame oil) for tempering, marinades, and rice preparations. The light, nutty flavour complements tamarind, coconut, and curry leaf.
Pickles (achar): sesame oil is the traditional preserving oil for many pickle recipes because its natural antioxidant compounds help prevent rancidity. A well-made pickle in sesame oil will last for months or years.
Ayurvedic oil pulling and massage: sesame oil is the base oil in most traditional Ayurvedic therapies. Its composition is considered warming and penetrating in classical Ayurvedic theory.
Buying and Storing
For cooking, you want cold-pressed light sesame oil — pale coloured, mild aroma. For a finishing drizzle on soups or dal, a small bottle of dark sesame oil is useful.
Sesame oil is one of the more shelf-stable cold-pressed oils due to its natural antioxidants, but it still benefits from storage in a cool, dark place. In warm Indian climates, keeping an opened bottle in the refrigerator extends its life.
