When I was in Russia last summer, I was looking for palm oil to make plov. To my surprise I spotted горчичное масло mustard oil in a Bekhetle. Mustard is used widely in India as a cooking oil. This is not the intense mustard oil used as a spice, but the vegetable oil derived from the mustard plant as a cooking oil. That caught my interest, so I bought a bottle and brought it back to the States. Turns out that in the States you cannot label this stuff as cooking oil because back in the 70s the erucic acid it contains was associated with toxic effects on the heart at high levels. (Thanks to the Wikipedia article for that info.) No negative effects in humans have been scientifically demonstrated. My general attitude to low-level associations with bad health is to say, “I don’t have time to be worried about this low-level crapola.” In various areas it is the traditionally preferred cooking oil. So I purchased myself a bottle.

Tonight I cooked with it for the first time, trying it in a dish where I thought it would show off its unique taste fairly simply: a bit of stewed cabbage. Here is what I did.

Ingredients

• mustard oil
• 1/2 of a large head of cabbage
• 1 tbsp powdered onion
• 1 tsp powdered garlic
• 1 tsp caldo de pollo (powder)
• 1 cup of water

Method

1. In a 12" pan (measured top rim-to-rim) cover the bottom of the pan with mustard oil. Turn the electric burner to half way. Chop the cabbage. Add the cabbage to the oil.
2. In the meantime mix the caldo with the water and heat it to just shy of boiling in the microwave, which will cut down your cooking time.
3. The cabbage should fry gently, stir it occasionally. You don't want it to brown, just to begin softening. When it is approaching softness, add the onion and garlic. Mix. Let cook for a minute.
4. Then add the caldo broth. Cook until the cabbage is soft.

Result

This turned out fine: a subtle cabbage dish. I had been expecting a much more aggressive mustard/brassica flavor, but that turned out not to be the case. I'd make it again, even for guests who didn't like spicy or aggressive food. I find myself wondering whether the version I bought was a particularly mild form to suit the delicate Russian palate. So I'll finish off the bottle, and then I'll be the stuff here in the US. Here it is not allowed to be sold with food labeling. Instead it is sold as massage oil, but people cook with it anyway. Cooking with massage oil... now that would bring a smirk to my face... and I can think of several people I would love to serve it too.