Idhayam is a Tamil Nadu name, and gingelly oil, pressed from sesame seed, is one of the defining flavours of South Indian cooking.

It is not the toasted sesame oil of Chinese cooking. Lighter in colour, gentler, and used as a cooking oil rather than a finishing drizzle.

Use it in South Indian dishes, in pickles where it works as a preservative as well as a flavour, in idli podi, and drizzled over hot rice with molagapodi. It is also the traditional oil for an oil bath.

Available at Curry Corner, North Melbourne.