Cooking With Chekku Thengai Ennai: Where Coconut Oil Shines

Most Tamil homes keep a bottle of coconut oil on the dressing table, but in Kerala and along the coast of Tamil Nadu it has always been a cooking oil first. Cold-pressed Chekku Thengai Ennai has a clean, mild coconut aroma that lifts vegetables, poriyal and seafood without overpowering them.

Why cold pressed coconut oil suits cooking

Coconut oil is rich in saturated fats, which makes it very stable on heat. It does not break down easily during frying or long simmering, and it keeps well without turning rancid. Because our oil is pressed slowly from sun-dried copra in a wooden chekku, it keeps the natural aroma that refined coconut oil loses.

Dishes where it works best

• Avial and kootu – a spoon of raw coconut oil stirred in at the end gives the classic finish.
• Poriyal and thoran – temper mustard, urad dal and curry leaves in coconut oil for vegetable stir-fries.
• Fish and prawn fry – the high heat stability makes crisp, non-greasy fries.
• Banana and jackfruit chips – the traditional frying oil for coastal chips.
• Puttu, appam and adai – brush the pan or drizzle over for aroma.

Tips for everyday use

Coconut oil solidifies below about 24°C. On cool mornings simply keep the bottle in a warm spot or stand it in warm water for a few minutes – this is natural and a sign that it has not been chemically treated. Use a dry spoon so that no water gets into the bottle.

You do not need to use one oil for everything. Many families rotate: groundnut oil for frying, gingelly oil for kuzhambu and pickles, and coconut oil for poriyal, avial and coastal dishes. Rotating oils gives a better balance of fats and flavours.

Our Chekku Thengai Ennai is available in 200 ml, 500 ml, 1 L, 5 L and 15 kg tin. Pressed fresh at our mill in K.Pudur, Madurai.