Ask ten Indian households for the best cooking oil for Indian food and you will hear ten different answers. Each one is right for a different dish. Groundnut oil covers frying and everyday cooking, mustard oil suits fish and pickles, and sesame and coconut oil go into tempering and slow-cooked curries. This guide goes dish by dish.

Which Oil Is Best for Indian Cooking?

The answer to which oil is best for Indian cooking depends on two things: how hot the pan gets, and how much flavour the dish wants from the oil.

Heat comes first. Every oil has a smoke point, the temperature at which it starts to smoke and break down. Deep frying usually runs between 175°C and 190°C, so frying needs an oil with room above that. A tadka or a quick sauté runs cooler, which gives you more choice.

Flavour comes next. Wood cold pressed oils keep the taste of the seed they came from. Groundnut oil is light and nutty, mustard oil is moderately pungent, sesame oil is mild and earthy, and coconut oil is mildly coconutty. A strong oil in the wrong dish takes over. A neutral oil in a dish built around one regional flavour leaves that flavour out.

Best Oil for Different Indian Dishes: The Oil-by-Dish Comparison

Use this table to find the best oil for different Indian dishes at a glance.

Dish

Oil to reach for

Why it works

Pakoras, samosas, pooris

Wood Cold Pressed Groundnut Oil (210°C)

The highest smoke point in our range, with a light nutty flavour

Dal tadka

Groundnut, sesame or mustard oil

Each releases flavour quickly in a hot pan. Sesame adds an earthy note, mustard a sharper one

Everyday sabzi and stir-fries

Groundnut, sesame or coconut oil

Suited to sautéing at moderate heat

Fish marinade and fry

Wood Cold Pressed Mustard Oil (200°C)

Its pungency suits marinating and frying

Pickles (achaar)

Mustard or Sesame oil

Mustard is a long-standing choice in North Indian and Bengali kitchens, and sesame in South Indian ones 

Kerala-style thoran and coastal curries

Wood Cold Pressed Coconut Oil (190°C)

The coconutty flavour fits, and it holds up over slow cooking

Slow-cooked gravies

Coconut oil

Suited to slow-cooking, where flavour has time to develop

Cakes and baked snacks

Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

Suited to baking and gentle roasting

Dressings and finishing

Sesame oil, virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil

Raw flavour matters more than heat tolerance

Everyday cooking

Groundnut or sunflower oil

Versatile for most daily cooking

Many of these pairings come from regional kitchens. Mustard oil is central to Bengali and North Indian cooking, sesame oil to South Indian kitchens, and coconut oil to Kerala and coastal Karnataka. A recipe from your own family may ask for something else, and that is a good reason to follow it. That is the idea behind picking the best oil for Indian cooking: match the oil to the dish and to the kitchen it comes from.

Best Oil for Frying Indian Food

For the best oil for frying Indian food, start with groundnut oil. At 210°C, it sits about 20°C above the top of a deep frying range, so pakoras, samosas and pooris can go in batch after batch without the oil smoking. The light nutty flavour stays in the background, and the snack still tastes like itself.

Mustard oil at 200°C also handles frying. It is the usual choice when the fish has already been marinated in it. Sesame and coconut oil, at 190°C, sit at the top of the frying range, so they are better kept for sautéing, tempering and slow cooking.

Best Cooking Oil for Daily Use

No single oil is the best cooking oil for daily use, because daily cooking covers a morning tadka and sometimes an evening fry. If you want one bottle that handles most of it, groundnut oil is the easy pick. It works for tempering, sautéing and frying.

If you like a neutral taste, our wood cold pressed sunflower oil is an easy upgrade from refined neutral oils. After that, add a second oil for the cuisine you cook most, such as mustard, sesame or coconut.

Cooking Oil for Indian Food: Smoke Points at a Glance

Here is the cooking oil for Indian food range we make, with smoke points from Gramiyaa product specifications.

Oil

Smoke point

Flavour

Best for

Wood Cold Pressed Groundnut Oil

210°C

Light nutty

Deep frying, tempering, sautéing

Wood Cold Pressed Mustard Oil

200°C

Moderately pungent

Marinating, sautéing, frying

Wood Cold Pressed Sesame Oil

190°C

Mild earthy

Sautéing, tempering, dressing

Wood Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

190°C

Mild coconutty

Sautéing, baking, slow-cooking

Virgin Cold Pressed Coconut Oil

190°C

Sweet coconutty

Low to mid heat cooking, baking, gentle roasting, dressing

Wood Cold Pressed Sunflower Oil

185°C

Neutral

Everyday cooking

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

185°C

Fresh fruity

Air-frying, sautéing, garnishing

Small Swaps That Change a Dish

The best oil for Indian dishes you already cook may be one swap away.

• Marinate fish in mustard oil before it goes into the pan.

• Temper dal in sesame oil when you want an earthy note.

• Keep groundnut oil for frying, and use a milder oil for everyday sautéing.

• Use virgin coconut oil in a cake or a dressing, where you can taste it.

Whichever oil you pick, store in its original Gramiyaa pack, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, with the cap closed.

Match the Oil to Tonight's Dish

Pick by the dish you cook most. Wood Cold Pressed Groundnut Oil covers frying and daily cooking. Sesame oil suits tempering, mustard oil suits fish and pickles, and coconut oil suits slow-cooked curries. Every pack carries a QR code that opens its batch details at trace.gramiyaa.com

FAQs

Which oil is best for Indian cooking?

It depends on the dish. Groundnut oil covers most everyday frying and sautéing. Mustard, sesame and coconut oil suit specific cuisines and cooking styles, so pick the one that matches what you cook most.

What is the best oil for frying Indian food?

Wood cold pressed groundnut oil. Its 210°C smoke point sits above the usual deep frying range of 175°C to 190°C, and its light nutty flavour lets pakoras, samosas and pooris taste like themselves.

What is the best cooking oil for daily use?

For most kitchens, Wood cold pressed groundnut oil, because it handles tempering, sautéing and frying. If you prefer a neutral flavour, sunflower oil works for everyday cooking.

Can I use one oil for all Indian dishes?

You can, but a single oil rarely suits every dish. Deep frying needs a high smoke point, while a raw dressing or a Kerala-style curry gains from a more flavourful oil. Two or three oils cover most Indian cooking.

Which oil is best for tadka?

Groundnut, sesame and mustard oil all work for tempering. Groundnut keeps the flavour light, sesame adds an earthy note and mustard adds sharpness, so choose by the dish.