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Is Cooking Oil The Taste Provider In Your Dish?
September 26, 2013

Yesterday, I delivered a talk on nutrition and wellness to a group of engineers in Calcutta.  While talking about fats and oils, one person in the audience said that Bengalis use a lot of oil because it gives taste to the food; so it’s difficult to reduce oil intake.  In response to this, another person in the audience narrated her learning – She watched a cookery show on television by the celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.  During the show, the chef noticed that a participant used a lot of oil in her dish.  When the chef asked her why, she said that oil enhances the taste of the dish.  Then Sanjeev Kapoor asked her if oil is tasty, can she eat oil as is?  The participant replied in the negative.  The chef responded that oil is not the taste enhancer.

I agree with this statement.  Oil does not provide the entire taste to a dish.  Taste comes from herbs, spices, fresh ingredients, etc. Fortunately Indian cuisine uses a large variety of spices which enhance flavour of every dish in which they are added. 

So, cut back on your total fat / oil intake for better health!