Why Ginger-Garlic Paste is an Essential Indian Ingredient
You've seen this ingredient often in Indian recipes, and if you're unfamiliar with Indian cooking, you’re probably wondering when you missed the memo on ‘ginger-garlic paste’ becoming a generic ingredient term.
A little secret, there's a bottle of ginger-garlic paste lurking in every Indian homecook’s refrigerator making it easy to cook Indian food at home. That's because many recipes start with a basic process of pan roasting fresh aromatics like onion, garlic, and ginger, along with whole spices in hot oil. And while the convenience of having two ingredients prepped and ready-to-go is a good reason to have the versatile ginger-garlic paste on hand, one cannot ignore the stunning health benefits of ginger and garlic.
Ginger enjoys a near-medicinal status as a well-known digestive aid along with many other healing benefits. Garlic, on the other hand, is mineral-rich with anti-inflammatory properties, and can help with lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, and fighting heart disease; all great reasons to keep a bottle of ginger-garlic paste on hand.
Unlike the slightly complex blend of warm ground spices in the equally irreplaceable Garam Masala; the ginger-garlic paste, an essential Indian fresh aromatic mixture, is pretty simple to put together at home.
You may add salt, white vinegar, or oil to preserve the freshness of this flavorful blend, but all you really need is fresh ginger and garlic cloves in a ratio that works to your family’s taste, blended together in a food processor. Viola! That’s one less step in many Indian recipes.
My ginger-garlic paste shown below is simple to make. Keeping a bottle of this homemade or store-bought ginger-garlic paste in your refrigerator means you’ll land up using it more often; always on hand to add Indian-inspired flavors to your curries and daal, or a great flavor kick to your favorite stew and pot roasts.
Make Ginger Garlic Paste at Home
A Simple Guide
How to Make Ginger Garlic Paste at Home
I’ve been testing the ratio of ginger garlic paste for a while now, finally coming to the simplest conclusion: the best ratio is equal parts of ginger and garlic! While many home cooks are used to peeling ginger; it is rarely peeled in the professional world when used for cooking purposes. Just remove the spoilt or hard knobs on the ginger and cut them into small pieces.
Using a food processor, grind equal parts of fresh unpeeled ginger and peeled garlic cloves to a fine paste. Stir the paste while grinding so you don’t land up with bits of ginger and garlic. Based on the moisture content in the ginger and garlic, you may need to add water, making sure that it remains a smooth paste consistency.
Store the ginger garlic paste refrigerated in a glass bottle, to use as required in recipes. The ginger-garlic paste can be made in bulk and stored in the cold part of the fridge or in a freezer for 3-6 months.
Tips for Freezing Ginger Garlic Paste
If freezing, use glass bottles and don’t fill them all the way to the neck of the bottle, leave 1-2 inches for expansion; else the bottle could crack in the freezer.
Thaw frozen ginger-garlic paste by leaving it in the refrigerator for 24 hours or in a bowl of warm water for quicker thawing.
