Kachi Ghani Mustard Oil: How It Is Pressed and How to Cook With It
By Thaaro Foods · 8 October 2026
Sharp, golden and unmistakable: kachi ghani mustard oil is the backbone of pickles and North Indian cooking. What the name means and how to use it well.
In Rajasthan, Punjab, Bihar and Bengal, the smell of mustard oil heating in a kadhai means the cooking has begun. Kachi ghani mustard oil has a sharp, nose-tingling bite that gives pickles, sabzis and fish their character. Here is what the name means and how to get the best from it.
What "kachi ghani" means
Ghani is the traditional oil press, and kachi means raw. Kachi ghani oil is pressed from mustard seeds slowly, at low temperature, without heating the seeds first. Traditionally the ghani was a wooden mortar turned by a bullock; today the same slow pressing is done with machines that keep the temperature low.
Oil pressed this way keeps the colour, aroma and pungency of the seed. Refined oils are processed at high temperature and with solvents to make them neutral in taste and smell.
Why it is so pungent
The sharpness comes from natural compounds released when mustard seed is crushed. It is the same bite you taste in mustard paste. Pungency varies from one season's seed to the next.
How to cook with it
- Heat it first. Many cooks heat mustard oil until it just starts to smoke, then let it cool slightly before adding spices. This softens its raw edge. In pickles it is often used raw or after heating and cooling, depending on the recipe.
- Tadka: hot mustard oil with mustard seeds, cumin, dried red chilli and hing is the start of countless dals and sabzis.
- Sabzi and saag: sarson ka saag, aloo and baingan dishes take on a deeper flavour in mustard oil.
- Marinades: a little mustard oil helps spices cling to paneer and vegetables for tikka. Try our mustard oil paneer.
- Pickles: mustard oil is the classic oil for mango, lemon and chilli pickles. See how Rajasthani pickles are made.
How to store it
- Keep the bottle closed, in a cool cupboard away from the stove and sunlight.
- Pour, do not dip: a wet spoon in the oil shortens its life.
- Use it by the best-before date on the label.
Buying good mustard oil
Read the label: it should say kachi ghani (or cold-pressed / wood-pressed), give the net quantity, the maker's address and FSSAI licence, and a best-before date. Real kachi ghani oil is golden to amber and smells strongly of mustard.
Thaaro's kachi ghani mustard oil comes from the same kitchen in Nijamnagar, Alwar, as our ghee and pickles. See everything from our kitchen.
Questions
What does kachi ghani mean?
Ghani is the oil press and kachi means raw: the mustard seed is pressed slowly at low temperature without heating it first.
Should mustard oil be heated before cooking?
Many cooks heat it until it just begins to smoke, then let it cool a little before adding spices. This softens its raw edge.
Why is mustard oil so pungent?
Natural compounds released when mustard seed is crushed give it its bite, the same sharpness as in mustard paste.