Remember that iconic scene from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge where Raj and Simran meet in secret in the middle of endless yellow fields? Guess what! That farm, forever etched into nostalgia, was blooming with Sarson, the very crop that gives us our very own sarson ka tel.
And perhaps that is what makes sarson ka tel so special. It has never been just an ingredient. Some ingredients have simply always been there. Not because someone decided they should be, but because the food made more sense with them in it. Sarson ka tel is one of those ingredients.
Long before wellness campaigns, cold-pressed labels, or “superfood” conversations, mustard oil was already simmering in Indian homes. It crackled in tadkas across Punjab and Rajasthan, coated fresh fish in Bengal’s bustling kitchens, and preserved achaar jars resting by sunlit windows in every grandmother’s home.
How Old Is Sarson Oil Really?
The earliest archaeological evidence of mustard seeds in the Indian subcontinent comes from excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, part of the Indus Valley Civilisation, dating back to around 3300 to 1300 BCE. That means mustard was being cultivated and pressed in this region long before most of the world had developed organised agriculture.
Sarson, also known as, Mustard, is well documented in the classical Ayurvedic literature of the Caraka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, Bhela Samhita, and Kashyapa Samhita. Scholars note that the term aasuri, which appears in the Atharva Veda, is believed to denote the mustard plant, extending its documented history even further into the past.
The Charaka Samhita mentions the warming quality of Sarshapa taila for relieving cold-related aches and enhancing digestion. The Sushruta Samhita endorsed using it as an external rub for Vata disorders, particularly joint pain and muscle stiffness.
What is worth understanding is that mustard oil was never just a cooking oil in the traditional Indian context. It was used in cooking, in Ayurvedic practice, and in ritual, often by the same household, often in the same week.
If Sarson Oil has been used for thousands of years without question, what changed?
Why Did Sarson Oil Disappear From Some Kitchens?
In the 1960s and 70s, a wave of nutritional research, largely funded by the American vegetable oil industry, began to position saturated fats and certain traditional fats as dangerous. Mustard oil, with its erucic acid content, became a specific target of this narrative.
Some countries have restrictions on mustard oil due to its erucic acid content. However, in India, it continues to be a widely used and culturally significant culinary ingredient, valued for its distinct taste and versatility in a wide range of traditional recipes.
What the campaign did not fully account for was that the cardiovascular effects associated with erucic acid had only been demonstrated in animal studies, and had not been conclusively shown in humans consuming it at the levels typical of a traditional Indian diet. India never adopted the ban. But the narrative had already done its work in urban kitchens, where refined vegetable oils were more accessible, and marketing had more reach.
The communities that had always depended on mustard oil, the fishing villages of Bengal, the agricultural households of Punjab, and the pickle makers of Rajasthan largely did not change. The food required it.
Why Indian Kitchens Never Really Let It Go ?
Mustard oil is not just another cooking medium in Indian homes. It is an identity. Sarson ka tel has been in traditional diets for centuries, mainly in North, East, and some parts of Central India. When heated right, its spiciness subsides and blends well with spices like cumin, garlic, ginger, and chilli. This is why so many regional recipes insist on it as the only alternative. Replace it with a neutral oil, and something never seems complete, even when you cannot put your finger on what it is.
The regional loyalty runs deep and for specific reasons.
In Punjabi cuisine, mustard oil is the preferred cooking medium for dishes like sarson da saag and makki di roti. The oil carries the bitterness of the greens in a way that nothing else does.
In Bengal, shorshe ilish, alu posto, and the dozens of fish preparations that define the cuisine were built around mustard oil from the beginning. The marinade, the cooking medium, and often the finishing drizzle are all the same oil. Substituting it does not produce the same dish. It produces a copy.
In Indian pickling traditions, mustard oil's pungency and natural antimicrobial properties make it the ideal preserving medium. Different vegetables and spices are submerged in mustard oil and left to ferment in sunlight for weeks or months. No synthetic preservative replicates what mustard oil does naturally in a pickle jar.
And then there is the ritual dimension. Mustard oil is often used in regional festivals and rituals. During the harvest festival of Lohri in Punjab, sarson da saag and makki di roti are enjoyed as a celebration of the harvest season. Mustard oil also plays a role in various religious offerings and rituals across different communities.
An oil that has that many reasons to stay does not disappear because a marketing campaign told it to.
What Does Sarson Oil Actually Do For You?
The benefits of mustard oil are real and worth understanding honestly.
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A Naturally Balanced Fat Profile: Mustard oil has one of the better omega-3 to omega-6 ratios among commonly used cooking oils. Most refined vegetable oils are heavily omega-6 dominant. That balance matters for inflammation and long-term cardiovascular health.
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Allyl Isothiocyanate: That sharp smell comes from allyl isothiocyanate, a naturally occurring compound with documented antimicrobial properties. This is why mustard oil has been used in pickling for generations. It preserves food naturally without additives.
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Ayurvedic: Classical Ayurvedic works like the Charaka Samhita, Sushruta Samhita, and Ashtanga Hridaya describe mustard oil as katu, meaning pungent in taste, and ushna, meaning hot in potency. These qualities are considered beneficial for circulation, digestion, and joint health, particularly in colder months.
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High Smoke Point: Mustard oil has a high smoke point of around 250 degrees Celsius, making it ideal for deep frying and high-heat cooking, allowing food to achieve a crispy texture without the oil burning or breaking down.
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External Use: Mustard oil is traditionally used for massages, particularly for newborns and infants, believed to promote growth and improve skin health.
However, mustard oil is still high in erucic acid, and moderation is sensible. The research on its effects in humans, used as part of a traditional diet, does not support alarm. In the end, like any cooking fat, it is best consumed with awareness rather than in excess.
Where Sarson Oil Belongs In The Kitchen?
Mustard oil does not work in every dish. But in the dishes it was made for, nothing else comes close.
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Tadka And Tempering: Heated until it just begins to smoke, then used to bloom spices over a dal or sabzi. The pungency mellows completely, and what remains is a depth that neutral oils cannot produce.
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Fish And Seafood: The combination of mustard oil and fish is one of the oldest flavour pairings in Indian cooking. Shorshe ilish, masor tenga, machha besara. These dishes require it. The oil is used to marinate, to cook, and sometimes to finish, all three stages in the same preparation.
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Sarson Da Saag And Mustard Greens: There is a reason this dish is made with the oil of the same plant as its primary ingredient. The oil and the greens belong together in a way that is almost impossible to replicate with a substitute.
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Pickles: Mustard oil's natural antimicrobial compounds make it the ideal pickling medium. Mango, lemon, ker sangri, mixed vegetables. It preserves and flavours simultaneously without anything synthetic doing the work.
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Marinades: Mixed with ginger, garlic, turmeric, and spices, mustard oil creates a marinade that holds through high heat without losing its character. Particularly effective with chicken and fish before grilling or roasting.
What To Look For When Buying Sarson Oil?
As awareness around traditional oils grows, so do products that use the vocabulary without earning it. A few things worth checking.
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Kachi Ghani/Wood Pressed: This tells you the oil was extracted without high heat or chemical solvents. If the label says nothing specific about the extraction method, that gap is worth noting.
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Colour: Genuine kachi ghani mustard oil is deep golden to amber, sometimes with a slight reddish tone. Very pale or completely clear mustard oil has likely been refined in ways the label is not advertising.
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Single Ingredient: The label should say mustard oil and nothing else. No blending, no additives, no processing aids listed in the fine print.
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Source: Mustard plants are cultivated in cooler climates, with mass production in states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, West Bengal, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. Brands that mention where their seeds come from are generally more careful about everything else in the process.
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Shelf Life: Genuine kachi ghani mustard oil retains its natural compounds, which means it does not last indefinitely. A product with a two-year shelf life has likely been processed in ways the label is not telling you.
Final Thoughts
Sarson ka tel never needed to be rediscovered. It was in the kitchens that never let go of it, in the pickles that have been made the same way for generations, in the tadkas that smell like home before the food even reaches the table.
What it needed was for the conversation around it to catch up to what those kitchens already knew.
The narrative that pushed it aside was built on incomplete science and served interests that had nothing to do with Indian food culture. That story is now being questioned. And the kitchens that briefly forgot sarsonka tel are starting to remember.
If yours is one of them, it is worth starting with an oil that has not had everything taken out of it first.
A Note From Gir Organic
At Gir Organic, we believe an oil should carry the full character of what it came from. Our wood-pressed mustard oil is extracted using the traditional kachi ghani process, slow, cool, and without chemical solvents, so that what reaches your kitchen still smells, tastes, and performs the way mustard oil was always meant to.
If you have been thinking about switching, try ours and taste the difference yourself.