Monica Bhide I really enjoy reading Melissa Clark’s Good Appetite column in the New York Times. Recently, she did a story on coconut oil. I was very intrigued. My parents never used it to cook. In fact, I only remember using it to oil my hair! But when I loved down south in India, i remember seeing a lot of folks using it to saute vegetables and even make meat curries. In the US, the oil had a bad rap for a long time. Turns out, we were wrong and the oil is good for you.
I turned to Sandeep Agarwal who owns and operates Pure Indian Foods and asked him about the organic virgin coconut oil that they sell on their site:
1. Tell me about the virgin organic coconut oil. What makes it organic?
Organic foods are produced without the use of artificial fertilizers, conventional pesticides, human waste, or sewage sludge. They are processed without the use of ionizing radiation or food additives.
2. What promoted you to add coconut oil to your product line?
Coconut Oil is getting a lot of attention. It has a medium chain fatty acid called Lauric acid which has many health benefits. A lot of our customers use coconut oil in their cooking along with ghee. As such, we made coconut oil available to meet our customers’ demand.
3. You wanted to get a message across to my readers about grass-fed cows, what would you like to share? ( Pure Indian Foods sells organic ghee)
Grass-fed cows have more Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) in their milk than grain fed cows. CLA is an antioxidant and essential fatty acid that has been getting a lot of attention lately. In animal studies, it reportedly exhibits anticarcinogenic and other beneficial physiological effects.
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/ScienceForums/forum03/E-04.htm
Sandeep has kindly agreed to giveaway a superb collection of oil and ghee to one Life of Spice reader:
One 7.8 oz jar of Grassfed Organic Ghee
One 14.5 oz jar of Virgin Organic Coconut Oil
One 6 x 1.1 oz sampler pack of Herbal/Spiced Ghee
Free shipping to a US address.
(A Retail Value of over $50).
Leave a comment here about why you want to win this set! And then go tell everyone you know to enter. Mention the giveaway on FB, Twitter etc and I will be very appreciative!
Winner will be picked on April 24th at 4:00 pm EST!
Thanks to Sala Kannan for a lovely photo (as usual)
Your article caught my attention, as my friends and I have had some lengthy conversations lately about coconut oil. One friend went to an herbalist who sang the praises of coconut oil instead of other oils or butters. I’d love to win and give it a try. I love Indian dishes and cooking, but am hoping I can use it with Asian foods, and other ethnic dishes.
I would love to win the products so I can make MORE of your recipes!
I have been using coconut oil in cooking and baking for its health benefits and would love to try Pure Indian Foods’ coconut oil as well as their other products. Great giveaway! I will tweet your giveaway!
I have recently discovered coconut oil and I am excited for all the new recipes that I can try. I have also converted my family into curry lovers so I would love to try your spiced ghee! Thanks for the giveaway!!!
I would love to win this. Just last week, at a friend’s house, I tried some delicious brownies. She told me she had used coconut oil. I was always worried that it would impart too much of a coconutty flavor (I love the stuff but my husband hates it). Instead, It added an interestingly rich tanginess that I can’t describe. Needless to say, hubby took 5 extra brownies home with him, and I can’t wait to try cooking with coconut oil.
I haven’t yet tried cooking with coconut oil, but I am intrigued. Ghee, on the other hand, I love!
I want to win this so that I can add it to the list of fabulous items i have already tried and loved from your site. Win or lose, just participating and sharing your site, makes me a winner already. And I get to share that with friends too!
I love baking with coconut oil. As an allergen-free baker, I am always looking for alternatives to butter.
I’ve been using ghee and coconut oil quite a bit over the last couple of years, in my Indian cooking, and in my day-to-day cooking and baking, as well. Spiced ghee? I’ve never seen that, but would love to try it – you know me, adventurous! I would really be interested in trying these products – they look like very high quality!
I LOVE coconut oil. I cook and bake with it all the time. I can’t eat most dairy products (except ghee), as I’m allergic, so often I substitute coconut oil for butter in baking. It’s so lovely in a lot of recipes! Never tried spiced ghee, so I’d love to see what that’s like!
Hi Monika,
A great informative post about uses of coconut oil. I wud like to give this set a shot in my curries. I know coconut oil, milk or water in any form is a powerhouse of health and nutrition. And now its a WORD from you, so makes me crave to have some. Shall tweet abt ur giveaway…thanks !!!
I would love to try this! Thanks.
It always comes back to the fact that our elders did know the best in a lot of things, especially food! 🙂
Traditionally, freshly pressed coconut oil was used. I think it got a bad name when the oil started getting processed and packaged for a longer shelf-life which was never the intended way of doing things.
My grandparents generation used coconuts and coconut oil everyday in their cooking and they were among the the healthiest people I knew. Would you believe my grandfather passed away at 86 some years back and he wasn’t taking medications for anything?
My grandmother passed away at 81 and she had excellent eyesight and dentition, not even a cavity. And neither had any heart related problems. 😀
Coconut oil is an every day staple in my kitchen! So glad to read Melissa Clark’s NYT’s article and that the oil is in vogue. I use it in scrambled eggs, baked goods, curries, and more.
Coconut oil has been used by 3 generations in my family. My mom used it for deep frying as well. Apart from being used to add lustre and sheen to dry locks, we also use a lot of it as a garnish for food. I also use the oil as a base for indian styled seasoning – Tadka.
As much ad the debate has been going on regarding the benefits and use, I would like to believe it is natural oil extracted fresh from a nut so should be good. Thanks for the detailed info shared. Makes me happy now! I will be glad to receive the goodies since I use all of them in my daily cooking.
The spice ghee is something I have never tries. Truly intriguing. Would love to try it out.
I use coconut oil all the time to create naturally dairy-free recipes (like Alta does) and for the health benefits by adding it to things you might not expect, like green smoothies. I wasn’t familiar with this brand so thank you for sharing, Monica! I haven’t tried ghee at all yet, so these options are terrific. Thanks for the giveaway! 🙂
Shirley
I love Indian cuisine and have learned how to make it at home over the past few years. When I make it at home, I can control what goes in and know what I’m eating is healthful. I love Ghee and would love to try Coconut Oil, too. I’m sure it must be rich and wonderful. Thanks for a chance to win!
you just raked up nostalgia about ‘Parachute’ brand coconut oil. Those iconic blue bottles were almost mandatory in most South Indian kitchens.(It still occupies a spot in mine). I rediscovered its value in finishing Classic dishes like Avial. a drizzle of warm oil prior to serving!!
I have just begun to use coconut oil. I currently buy as much organic as possible. I also try to buy only grass fed from local farmers due to CLA for health, I would love to win this.
After reading the resipe for sweet potatoes cooked in coconut oil, I’ve have been deperate to try it! I have also never tried ghee – I might have to go pick these items up this weekend!
I have never tried coconut oil but I love to try new recipes and it would expand my repertoire immenselyif I won some and the ghee as well.
Interesting article Monica. The first time I knew coconut oil can be used for cooking was when I tasted banana chip from kerala. They are fried in coconut oil and the taste lingers while you eat these goodies.
Still, for me personally speaking coconut oil is for hair and it will take time to experiment in my cooking. :-).
thanks for the Q&A.
Siri
and oh ya, I would love to win the giveaway. :-).
Siri
I am intrigued by rye herbal/spiced ghee and would love to try it.
I love to cook with coconut oil and even use it as a substitute for butter in baked goods.
I spent my childhood years in Kerala and absolutely loved the food cooked with coconut oil(though I am from Hyderabad). Its very difficult to imagine Kerala ‘bakshanam'(food) without coconut, It adds a lot of flavor, especially during festivals like Onam, where onasadhya is prepared with Coconut oil and a lot of coconut is used in various forms. Coconut tree is truly the ‘kalpavriksha’ which means – a celestial tree which grants all wishes. This saying is true since each part of coconut tree is useful.
Coconut Oil is a wonderful healthy food that has been shown to increase metabolism and assist in burning unwanted fat off your body. Truly a a wonder food!
All the giveaways look very inviting esp. the spiced ghee. Thanks for the opportunity to win this hamper 🙂
I use coconut oil for beauty products that I’ve made, but I’d not heard until this year that it was good for cooking. We LOVE Indian food and I’ve resolved to try cooking a few dishes at home in the near future.
I would really enjoy this collection and would share some with others. I am learning about the health benefits of coconut oil which is now becoming vogue once again. My sister Terri turned me on to it about a year ago. I love playing with my food.
I would live to win this book. I’m just learning about the uses and positive effects coconut oil has on your body …. Would love to learn more!!!
I would like to win because I haven’t used any of these products yet. I love trying new things. Thanks!
The winner is ConfessionsMom! Please email me your address so I can get this out to you ASAP