Tadka, Sauté, Roast or Finish? Which Oil, How Much, and How Hot

July 10, 2026|Kalpesh

Quick answer: Use Essential (naturally refined avocado oil) for anything hot: tadka, sauté, roasting and frying. Use Drizzle (cold-pressed) after the heat, for dressings, dips and some baking. Use Magic (spray) when you want a thin, even coat on a tawa, a roti, a tray or an air-fryer basket. Most dishes need less oil than habit suggests.

How one customer uses all three

One of our customers told us something that stuck with us. They love olive oil, and they're not giving it up. But in daily Indian cooking, they didn't like it overpowering their spices. So for the everyday dal and sabzi, they switched to Essential, because it's neutral and lets the masala lead.

Then they surprised us. Instead of brushing ghee on their rotis, they now give each one a quick spray of Magic. And their extra virgin olive oil still has its place on the table, with Drizzle coming out a few times for baking.

That's exactly how we hoped people would use the range: not replacing everything, just the right oil for each job. So here's the cheat sheet, technique by technique.

The cheat sheet

Technique	Oil	How much (for 4 servings)	Ready cue
Tadka for dal	Essential	1–2 tsp	One mustard seed pops in ~2 seconds
Sabzi in a kadai	Essential	1–1½ tbsp	Oil shimmers and flows like water
Rotis, straight off the tawa	Magic	1 press per roti	A light sheen, no pooling
Parathas / dosas on tawa	Magic	1–2 presses per side	A drop of water sizzles away instantly
Oven-roast vegetables	Essential, toss	1 tbsp per tray	Every piece looks lightly glossy
Air fryer	Magic	3–4 presses, toss, repeat halfway	Dry spots disappear
Deep-frying	Essential	Enough for food to float	Batter drop rises steadily with bubbles
Cakes and muffins	Essential (neutral) or Drizzle (richer)	Swap 1:1 for vegetable oil	As per recipe
Raita, salad, hummus, chutney	Drizzle	1 tsp to finish	No heat: pour and stir
Finishing hot dal	Drizzle	½–1 tsp	Off the flame, just before serving

Tadka and tempering

A tadka is a few seconds of real heat. Warm Essential in a small pan, test with one mustard seed, then add spices from hardest to softest: rai, then jeera, then dals and dried chillies, curry leaves near the end. Take the pan off the flame before hing and powders; they burn in a second or two. Because Essential is neutral, jeera tastes like jeera.

Sauté and stir-fry

Use a wide pan so the oil coats more surface and you need less of it. Preheat the pan, then the oil. Dry vegetables like bhindi and beans brown; crowded, wet vegetables steam. Cook in two batches if your kadai is full.

Rotis and the tawa

A single press of Magic on a hot roti gives a soft sheen without a spoonful of anything. On a dosa or paratha tawa, a press between rounds keeps the surface ready.

Roasting and grilling

Toss vegetables or paneer with oil, salt and spices in a bowl before they meet the tray. It's more even than drizzling on the tray. Use Magic for a quick top-up on dry edges halfway through.

Deep- and shallow-frying

Keep Essential at 170–190°C and fry in small batches; each batch cools the oil. A high smoke point gives you margin, but don't let the oil smoke. More in our frying guide.

Baking, dressings and finishing

For bakes, swap avocado oil one-for-one for vegetable oil: Essential if you want no flavour, Drizzle for a richer note. After the heat, Drizzle shines: whisk it with lime and salt for a dressing, blend it into hummus, swirl it into raita, or pour a thread over hot dal right before serving.