What to do with the olive oil from canned sardines

For this dish, you'll probably want to use a low-end extra-light oil (since it's being heated quite a bit), and then drizzle in nicer extra virgin oil to finish the flavor after the pasta has been tossed into the cheese, oil, and spices.

The rule of thumb is to have two kinds of olive oil:

• High-grade, richly flavored extra virgin olive oil (for finishing)
• Extra light, not extra-virgin olive oil for use as a cooking oil. You can use a cheaper oil for this -- many people choose to use a later pressing, crudo or "pure olive oil" (in the US) kind.

The high-end oil is for adding it to sauces and drizzling on mostly-finished dishes to add that rich flavor. You're looking for something with a lot of taste, and it's a good idea to get small amounts of pricier oil. Getting small bottles means you'll be using fresher, more flavorful oil because it hasn't been open for long. Plus, you won't need much to finish dishes. Note that for this use, you want to add the oil near the end of cooking, as heat will alter and weaken the flavor.

The low-end light olive oil should be of neutral or light flavor, and will be more tolerant of heating than extra-virgin. Because it has a much higher smoke point than extra-virgin grade oil, use this in recipes calling for heating up olive oil. If necessary for flavor, add some of the good stuff near the end of cooking.

With Olive oils, the more refined they are, the higher their burning point. So you are correct, an Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil would be a terrible choice for Indian cooking (would cause effect on taste, smell, and nutrition) which has prolonged periods of sauteing on high heat.

Lower quality olive oils, or a light olive oil, interestingly, would be a better choice. They are much more refined like vegetable oils, so have a higher burning point. But at that point, you'd consider why are you using Olive oil?

Consider using refined butter (ghee) or coconut oil for Indian cooking. Ghee and Coconut oil will rarely smoke or burn and can stand high heat pretty well. I believe traditional Indian cooking uses ghee.