Short answer: groundnut oil (peanut oil) is a mild, nutty oil that many Indian homes use every day for cooking and frying. Wood-pressed groundnut oil is crushed slowly in a wooden chekku, so it stays deep gold and smells of roasted groundnuts. At Vedic Taila we press it below 35°C, unfiltered and with no preservatives.
India's everyday oil
In many parts of India, especially Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat, groundnut oil has long been the oil for daily cooking. It has a gentle flavour that doesn't overpower food, which makes it a good all-rounder for sabzi, dal, poriyal and frying.
It goes by many names: kadalai ennai in Tamil, kadlekai enne in Kannada, palli nune or verusenaga nune in Telugu, shengdana tel in Marathi and moongphali ka tel in Hindi.
How wood-pressed groundnut oil is made
- Clean, shelled groundnuts go into the wooden chekku.
- The wooden pestle turns slowly, crushing the nuts against the mortar.
- Oil and groundnut cake separate naturally, with the oil staying below 35°C.
- The oil rests, settles and is bottled unfiltered, with nothing added.
Refined groundnut oil is usually bleached and deodorised, so it smells of almost nothing. Real wood-pressed groundnut oil smells unmistakably of groundnuts the moment you open the bottle.
How to cook with groundnut oil
Frying
Bajji, vada, murukku, chakli and festival snacks have long been fried in groundnut oil. It handles everyday frying well and leaves a light, nutty taste.
Daily cooking
Use it for sabzi, palya, poriyal, upma, poha and dal tadka. Its mild flavour lets the vegetables and spices lead.
Chutneys and chikki
Finish groundnut chutney with a groundnut oil tadka to double the flavour. With jaggery, groundnuts become chikki, one of India's simplest sweets.
How to recognise real wood-pressed groundnut oil
- Smell: clearly of roasted groundnuts.
- Colour: rich golden yellow.
- Clarity: may show a little natural sediment, because it isn't filtered.
- Cold weather: it can turn slightly cloudy or thick when cold, and clears again at room temperature.
How to store it
Keep the bottle closed, away from sunlight and the stove, and use a dry spoon. With no preservatives, a cool, dark shelf keeps it fresh longest.
Frequently asked questions
Is groundnut oil the same as peanut oil?
Yes. Groundnut and peanut are two names for the same nut.
Can I reuse groundnut oil after frying?
Traditional kitchens use fresh oil for the best taste. If you reuse it, strain it, keep it covered and don't reuse it repeatedly.
Which oil goes well alongside groundnut oil?
Many families alternate groundnut oil with sesame oil, using sesame for tadka and pickles and groundnut for frying and daily cooking.
Try our wood-pressed groundnut oil, pressed below 35°C in Chandapura, Bangalore. Free delivery in Bangalore on orders of 5 litres and above (the 5 L can is delivered free); other states free on ₹3,500 and above.