Chef Rahul Wali delves into the reasons why we should use ONLY those oils in our cooking which we can use on our Bodies
Oil can be used in different forms of cooking like frying, marinating, grilling etc. We Indians love our fried foods like Pakodas, Bhature, Puri, Samosa and much more. The reason is the OIL in which these lovely preparations are cooked. Traditionally Indians used very few edible oils:
- Mustard Oil which was obtained by bullock cart driven cold press. Used mostly in Northern and Eastern India.
- Groundnut Oil used in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
- Coconut Oil in Kerala.
- Sesame Oil in Tamil Nadu.
Apart from the above, other fat used for cooking was Desi Ghee prepared from cow’s milk. Since the Market Revolution in 1937, there have been many more products launched in India at a cheaper cost; the first being Dalda – hydrogenated vegetable oil. Then in the late 1970s came the Yellow Revolution with many seed based oils like Sunflower, Soyabean, etc being introduced. By the early eighties, many Indian households and even commercial food units were using so called Refined oil instead of the traditional oils. The third phase was in the early 1990’s with imported oils such as olive oil being used in kitchens at home and commercially.
As per Ayurveda commonly using cooking oils are Sarshapataila (Mustard oil), Tilataila (Sesame oil), Narikelataila (Coconut oil), Bhuchanakataila (Groundnut oil). A composition of any cooking oil will change as it depends upon processing, its origin, dietary supply, quality and nutrient of the oil. One should use oils which are produced naturally.
Ayurveda and oil
Ayurveda insists on oils which are grown and made according to the season and geographical location. But sadly today many people are following Western diet practices and opt to use olive oil, refined oil, etc which are not suitable for Indian cooking. These so called vegetable oils are not easy to digest since they are not native to India. Ironically, unrefined oils are good for health. In fact, Ghee has a high smoke point and is excellent nourishment for our immune system.
Vegetable oils tend to oxidise quickly under heat whereas the unrefined oils don’t. Which means unrefined oils are more stable and do not deteriorate as they do not contain monosaturated and polysaturated fats. When we use natural seed oils, we get their inherent benefits of antioxidants and PUFAs. As per Ayurveda, edible oil must have qualities of Snigdha (Unctuousness), Manda (Slow), Mrdu (Soft), Sukshma (Subtle) and Sita (cool) which we see in natural form in unrefined oils. In India traditional oils were produced at low temperatures known as ‘Ghani’. They were then packed in dark bottles to protect from direct sunlight.
Unfortunately, refined oils when RBD (Refined, Bleached and Deodorised), they become colourless, odourless and tasteless. They are processed heavily by manufacturers to give them a long shelf life and look nice in attractive packaging. These oils are also known to cause many diseases like Migraine, Autism, Autoimmune diseases, etc. These oils can be easily found in almost all ready to eat foods like breakfast cereals, soya milk, biscuits, chips, etc.
According to me if you can massage an oil into your skin, like coconut or mustard oil, then you can consume it; but if you cannot use that oil on your bodies, then DON’T consume it…SIMPLE.
