Amudham oil shop located in Mandaveli sells fresh cold-pressed oils. It is an enterprise by two brothers Janakiraman and Sathishkumar from Thanjavur.
Janakiraman was a professor at Sastra University in Thanjavur and Satishkumar was an engineer at Rajasthan. Both have given up their jobs to start this venture.
‘We wanted to promote clean, green living and make a contribution to it, as much as we can. Our family used to be involved in this oil-press business, though our father had to look for employment elsewhere to make ends meet. Since, nowadays, there is a great awareness and demand for good quality foods, we want to give this a go’, says Janakiraman.
Sathishkumar operates the press that is located in the shop. ‘We make peanut, coconut and sesame oils here, using only good quality ingredients. We make sure that the nuts are fresh and that there are no foreign particles – this way we not only ensure the quality of the oil, but also make sure that the wood in the press doesn’t get damaged’, he says.
The oil coming out of the press is then stored in big steel drums, covered and kept out in the sun for a few hours – this is to separate any foam or other particles from the oil. After that, the oil is filtered and stored in huge brass containers coated on the inside with lead. ‘This is the traditional method of storing the oils. Kept like this, the oils can retain the freshness for months’, says Janakiraman.
The left over waste, after the pressing, is punnakku. This is sold to farms and others who can use them as a feed for life-stock. It is said to be very nutritious to cattle.
Bring your own containers to buy oil from here, but make sure that they are not plastic. ‘We don’t want to sell our products in plastic containers, this defeats the purpose of clean living’, say the duo.
Store located at 32/14, R. K. Math Road. Ph: 9842033815, 9043533815.
