Meet Sesame: From Farm to Seed and Oil

Sesame, called til in Hindi, is one of the oldest cultivated oilseeds in the region, with a history that runs through festival sweets, everyday tempering and a pressed oil used across regional Indian cooking.

Quick introduction

A small oilseed with white and black varieties, known as til in Hindi, central to Indian food traditions for generations.
Roasting transforms its flavour dramatically, which is why most Indian recipes call for the roasted form.
Sesame oil, raw or roasted pressed, can be used for both cooking and finishing, unlike flaxseed oil's raw only role.
Deeply tied to Makar Sankranti and other festival foods, alongside everyday chutneys and tempering.
A genuinely foundational seed to start with if you are building an Indian pantry from scratch.

Picked this week

Sesame seed and oil

Najirpur Farm I · Najirpur

Roasted Sesame Seeds

$2.08 · 1 KG

Najirpur Farm I · Najirpur

Sesame Oil

$3.32 · 1 KG

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Meet sesame questions

Is the seed or the oil the better place to start with sesame?: The roasted seed is the more foundational starting point, useful across more everyday recipes than the oil alone.
Can sesame oil be used for cooking, unlike flaxseed oil?: Yes, particularly raw pressed sesame oil, which can handle moderate cooking heat as well as finishing use.
What festival is sesame most associated with?: Makar Sankranti, where til-gud sweets are a central, longstanding tradition.
How old is sesame cultivation in this region?: Considered one of the oldest cultivated oilseed crops on the subcontinent, discussed further elsewhere in this guide.

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