Guides · 4 min read ·
Which Cooking Oil? Ghee, Mustard Oil, Canola, Olive Oil and Banaspati Explained
A practical guide to cooking fats in a desi kitchen: which oil suits frying, bhunai, tarka and baking, smoke points, why to avoid banaspati, how many times you can reuse frying oil, and how to store oil.
Pakistani cooking uses a lot of fat. It carries the flavour of spices, it makes the possible, and it gives fried snacks their crunch. So the fat you choose matters, both for taste and for health. Most kitchens use two or three: a neutral oil for everyday cooking, ghee for flavour, and perhaps mustard oil for pickles. Here’s how to choose and use them well.
The main options
Refined vegetable oils (sunflower, canola, soybean, corn). Neutral in taste, inexpensive and stable at the high heat of frying. Most Pakistani households cook everyday salan, daal and sabzi in one of these. Canola and sunflower are mostly unsaturated fats, which are generally considered the healthier everyday choice.
Desi ghee. Clarified butter with a rich, nutty flavour that nothing else matches. It handles high heat well because the milk solids have been removed. It’s high in saturated fat, so many families now use it as a finishing fat: a spoon in the tarka, on roti or in sweets. Our homemade ghee guide shows how to make it.
Mustard oil (sarson ka tail). Pungent, sharp and traditional in Punjab, Kashmir and Bengal, and the classic oil for achar. It’s usually heated until it just smokes, then cooled slightly, which mellows its raw bite. In the US and EU some mustard oil is labelled “for external use only” because of its erucic acid content; in South Asia it has been eaten for centuries. If you use it, use it as one oil among others rather than for everything.
Olive oil. Extra-virgin olive oil has a fruity flavour that suits Arabic and Turkish salads and dips like hummus. It’s fine for normal cooking, though its flavour is lost in a strong masala and it’s expensive for deep-frying in Pakistan.
Banaspati (vanaspati). A solid “vegetable ghee” made by hydrogenating oil. Older types contain trans fats, which health authorities worldwide advise avoiding because they raise heart-disease risk. Many manufacturers have reduced them, but if you can, choose a liquid oil or real ghee instead, and check labels for “partially hydrogenated” oil.
Smoke points, simply
Every fat starts to smoke and break down at a certain temperature. Above it, it tastes acrid and produces harmful compounds. Approximate smoke points:
| Fat | Approx. smoke point | Best uses |
|---|---|---|
| Refined sunflower / canola | 200–230°C | Frying, bhunai, everyday cooking |
| Desi ghee | about 230–250°C | Tarka, parathas, sweets, biryani |
| Mustard oil | about 240–250°C | Achar, Punjabi and Bengali dishes |
| Extra-virgin olive oil | about 190–210°C | Salads, dips, gentle cooking |
| Butter | about 150°C | Finishing only; burns quickly |
Deep-frying happens at 160–190°C, so all the refined oils and ghee are suitable. Butter isn’t: add it at the end, or mix it with oil.
How much oil?
Restaurant food is oily partly for looks. At home, a family-sized curry usually needs 3–4 tablespoons, not half a cup. The masala needs enough fat to fry and for the oil to separate, but no more. Our guide to lighter desi cooking has more ways to cut back without losing flavour.
Reusing frying oil safely
Frying oil can be reused a few times if you look after it:
- Let it cool, then strain it through a fine sieve or muslin to remove crumbs, which burn and spoil the oil.
- Store it in a clean, closed jar away from light.
- Reuse it for similar food. Oil used for fish tastes of fish.
- Throw it away when it’s dark, thick, foamy, smells rancid or starts smoking at a low temperature. As a rule of thumb, two or three uses is enough.
Never keep “topping up” the same oil for weeks, as many street stalls do. Repeatedly heated oil breaks down into compounds that are bad for you, and it makes food taste stale.
Storing oil and ghee
Keep oil in a cool, dark cupboard, away from the stove; heat and light make it go rancid. Use opened bottles within a few months. Ghee keeps for months at room temperature if you always use a dry spoon, and longer in the fridge. Mustard oil and olive oil should also be kept tightly closed and away from sunlight.
A simple plan for most kitchens
- One neutral oil (sunflower or canola) for everyday cooking and frying.
- A jar of ghee for tarka, parathas, biryani and sweets.
- Mustard oil if you make pickles or love Punjabi flavours.
- Olive oil for salads and Mediterranean dishes.
That’s all most families need, and it keeps both flavour and health in balance.
