Ellu Sadam with Wood Pressed Sesame Oil

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Traditional Tamil Nadu Recipe • Wood Pressed Sesame Oil

Ellu Sadam

A simple, deeply nourishing rice made with roasted sesame and cold-pressed nallennai — served on Amavasai days and winter mornings across Tamil Nadu.

10Min Prep
20Min Cook
3Servings
EasyDifficulty
“Ellu Sadam is the rice of ancestors. On Amavasai, our grandmothers cooked this rice before sunrise and offered it first before anyone in the house ate. The smell of sesame toasting in the morning was how we knew the day had begun right.”

Ingredients

  • Cooked white rice, cooled2 cups
  • White sesame seeds3 tbsp
  • Sree Kumaran Wood Pressed Sesame Oil3 tbsp
  • Dry red chillies3
  • Urad dal1 tsp
  • Chana dal1 tsp
  • Mustard seeds½ tsp
  • Curry leaves2 sprigs
  • Asafoetidaa pinch
  • Saltto taste

Method

  1. Dry roast the sesame seeds in a heavy pan on low heat, stirring constantly, until they turn golden and begin to pop. Transfer immediately to a plate to stop cooking. Cool for five minutes.
  2. Grind the roasted sesame with dry red chillies and salt into a coarse powder using a mixie. Do not grind too fine — the texture should be slightly gritty, not a paste. Set aside.
  3. Heat wood pressed sesame oil in a kadai until it shimmers. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add urad dal, chana dal and fry until golden. Add curry leaves and asafoetida — the kitchen will fill with the warm, nutty fragrance of nallennai.
  4. Add the cooled rice to the pan and mix gently, ensuring every grain separates and is coated with the sesame oil tempering. Do not mash the rice.
  5. Add the ground sesame-chilli powder and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust salt.
  6. Finish with an extra drizzle of raw wood pressed sesame oil directly over the rice before serving. This raw pour is what gives ellu sadam its signature deep aroma.
Chef’s Note from Our Kitchen

Never use refined sesame oil for this dish — the recipe exists entirely to showcase the oil’s flavour. Cold pressed nallennai has a depth of roasted sesame that refined oil completely loses in processing. One teaspoon of our oil does what three teaspoons of refined oil cannot.

Made with Sree Kumaran Wood Pressed Sesame Oil

Chekku cold pressed • Tamil Nadu sourced • No chemicals • Since 1945

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