Cold Pressed Sesame Oil (Til Tel) - Wood Ghani

Cold pressed sesame oil crushed in a wooden ghani at low speed, sold the way til tel was sold across Maharashtra before refining took over. Seed comes from our farmer group and nothing is bleached or deodorised afterwards.

What wood ghani pressing actually means

A wooden ghani turns slowly enough that the seed paste never heats past what your hand can hold. Refined oil is pulled out with solvent at high heat, which strips colour and smell. This stays amber and smells strongly of toasted til when the cap comes off. A little sediment at the bottom is seed matter, not spoilage.

How Maharashtrian kitchens use it

Til tel is the fodni oil for plain varan bhaat when you want the tadka to actually smell of something. It goes into tilgul and chikki around Sankranti, into the masala for bharli vangi, and a spoon over hot bhakri with thecha.

Bottle sizes

500 ml, 1 litre, 2 litre, 3 litre and 4 litre. Start with 500 ml if you have been cooking in refined oil, the flavour is much stronger.

Keeping it

Store away from the stove and out of direct sun. There is nothing added to hold this oil, so heat and light shorten its life.

If you fry more than you temper, keep groundnut oil next to it, and safflower oil when you want something lighter on the tongue. Every press is listed under wood pressed oil.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between cold pressed and refined oil

Cold pressed oil is crushed mechanically and filtered, and that is the whole process. Refined oil is solvent extracted, then bleached and deodorised, which is why it has almost no smell.

Why has my sesame oil gone cloudy

Cool weather thickens any unrefined oil and it looks hazy in the bottle. Leave it out for an hour and it clears by itself.

Can I deep fry in til tel

You can, though it smokes earlier than groundnut or safflower and the flavour dominates. Most people keep it for fodni, chutney and sweets, and fry in something neutral.