The transesterification is carried out in presence of an alkaline catalyst. The alkaline catalyst is preferably, sodium or potassium hydroxide. The concentration of the catalyst is in the range of 0.1 to 2 wt% of the fatty acid triglycerides. In the present study, the transesterification is carried out in presence of a solvent to make the reaction mixture a single phase. The solvent used is esters of fatty acids having carbon atoms in the range of 10 to 22, preferably the same carbon number range as that of fatty acid triglycerides, and primarily alcohol, 1 to 2 carbon atoms and the solvent concentration is in the range of 1 to 20 wt % of fatty acid triglycerides.