Ellu is Sesamum indicum, sesame — the flat seed Tamil kitchens call ellu and that Hindi kitchens call til. Gingelly oil is the same species pressed. Black, brown and cream seeds are colour grades, not three plants. It is food and a lamp oil before it is a “hair serum.”
- Botanical name
- Sesamum indicum L.
- Family
- Pedaliaceae
- Tamil
- Ellu
- Hindi
- Til
- Sanskrit
- Tila
- Parts used
- Seeds, Seed oil
- Habit
- Annual oilseed herb; the article is the seed and its oil
- Last updated
- 2026-10-29
How to recognise Ellu
Linnaeus published Sesamum indicum. The family is Pedaliaceae. It is an annual with opposite leaves, tubular flowers, and a capsule that pops when dry — the reason harvest is timed carefully.
The seed is small, flat and oval, with a faint nut smell. Colour runs from ivory through tan to near-black. Tahini, til laddoo and nallennai are the same species in different kitchens.
Tamil ellu, Hindi til and Sanskrit tila are the names. English sesame and the older gingelly (from Portuguese via Indian trade) are this plant. Sesamum alatum and other wild sesame relatives are not the kirana seed.
Cold-pressed nallennai and refined “sesame oil” are different mill jobs. Toasted oil for East Asian cookery is a third aroma. The label should say which.
A row in a dry Tamil field and a Korean bag of white seed can be the same crop.
Hull-on and hulled seed look different in a jar. Hull-on keeps more of the seed’s own bitterness. Neither is a drug.
A seed that has gone rancid smells of paint. That is a mill and storage fact, not a cultivar.
Til on a makar-sankranti laddoo and gingelly in a Tamil oru-mavin-kootu are the same seed in different festivals. Festival use is culture, not a reason to print a disease name on a pouch.
Traditional use of Ellu
South Asian food and lamps
Seed and oil are food and, in many houses, a lamp oil. That is culture.
Tamil, Hindi and wider practice
Ayurveda
Tila oil is the classic base for abhyanga, the oil massage. An oil massage heading is historical. It is not a dermatology claim.
Ayurvedic headings
Modern notes on Ellu
Lignan chemistry (sesamin and the rest) is described. A spoon of oil and a capsule are not interchangeable.
The practical modern issue is cheaper oils cut into gingelly, and “black sesame” hair stories that outrun the mill.
Ellu safety
Sesame is a major allergen in many countries. That is the first safety sentence, not a footnote.
People with a known sesame allergy should not treat “gingelly” as a different plant.
Rancid oil is a reason to throw the bottle out, not to “detox.”
Ecology and sourcing
It is an annual dryland crop. A good label gives colour, press method and harvest year.
Related plants
Also in Pedaliaceae
Questions about Ellu
Are black and white sesame different plants?
No. Colour grades of Sesamum indicum. Same species, different seed coat.
What is the Tamil name of Sesamum indicum?
Ellu. The oil is often called nallennai.
Sources
- Sesamum indicum L. — Plants of the World Online, Kew (search) (accessed 2026)
- Wikidata item Q2763698 (Sesamum indicum)
Educational page about a plant. It is not medical advice, not a diagnosis, and not an offer to sell. Traditional use is historical. If you need care, ask a licensed clinician. Questions: hello@meevamed.com.