journal/til-chikki-at-home/hero
Til chikki at home, in three ingredients
Sesame, jaggery, a teaspoon of cold-pressed sesame oil. A Sankranti tradition in a tin.
The Journal
Reading from the press.
Essays from the family. Technique from the kitchen. The cultural notes that come with sixty years of pressing oil for Indian households.
journal/oil-pulling-sesame/hero
Oil pulling with sesame — what the Ayurveda texts actually say
Gandusha. Kavala. The practice is older than the language we use to describe it. What it is, and what it isn't.
journal/deepam-lamp-and-oil/hero
Deepam — lamp, light, and the oil that keeps it lit
The clay diya, the brass lamp, the temple thali, and the oil that has always been their fuel.
journal/coconut-oil-for-avial/hero
Coconut oil for Kerala's avial — the technique
The avial is not a coconut-oil dish — except in the one moment that makes it one.
journal/argemone-adulteration/hero
Argemone adulteration — how to spot fake mustard oil
The most common food-fraud in Indian mustard oil, and the four tests a household can do at home.
journal/three-generations-one-ghaani/hero
Three generations, one ghaani
Each generation came to the press for a different reason. They all stayed.
journal/karwa-chauth-sweets/hero
Karwa Chauth sweets in pure groundnut oil
Mathri, gond ke ladoo, panjiri — the Karwa Chauth sweets that ask for groundnut, not ghee alone.
journal/sarson-tadka-principles/hero
Sarson ka tel, the right way — four Bengali tadka principles
The first smoke, the second crackle, the third pour, the fourth rest. The Bengali way with mustard oil.
journal/smoke-point-guide/hero
Smoke point, simply — a chart and a guide
A practical guide to oil smoke points, written for the household kitchen and not the chemistry lab.
journal/diya-and-the-oil/hero
Why a clay diya needs an old oil, not a new one
Paraffin, kerosene, mineral oil — none of these belong in a clay lamp. The diya is older than petroleum.
journal/refined-vs-cold-pressed/hero
Refined vs cold-pressed — what changes inside the bottle
The two oils share a name and an ingredient. Nothing else.
journal/the-press-in-sangli/hero
The press in Sangli that hasn't stopped since 1965
Sixty years of one wooden ghaani in one shed in one Maharashtrian town. The press is the family. The family is the press.