Ginger Garlic Paste
Ginger Garlic paste is the most important ingredient and the base of all curries in Indian cooking. It is an essential part of all Biryanis and all masala curries I make, my kids love masala and I love adding dollops of ginger garlic simply because of the aroma. Its imparts a good flavor to all meat curries and also helps making the meats soft and tender.
Usually, ginger garlic paste is made fresh and used up as soon as possible but the new modern refrigeration equipment enables us to make it in bulk and store for easier cooking. I make a huge batch of Ginger garlic paste with just 3 ingredients and store in glass jars for up to 3 months. It makes my job so much easier!
What is Ginger Garlic paste?
As I said, it is the most important ingredient in Indian cooking, it has beautiful aroma and has medicinal properties as well. Ginger garlic paste, as the name suggests, is nothing but ginger and garlic crushed into a coarse paste. Ginger is loaded with antioxidants and has anti-inflammatory properties, which improves our immunity. It also helps with digestion by eliminating intestinal gas. Garlic improves cholesterol levels and is highly nutritious. It boosts your immune system and helps with digestion. So, overall, these two ingredients are a must-add to your diet.
Why make it homemade? and What preservatives are we using here?
Homemade stuff always has a fresh flavor without the preservatives. Ginger garlic paste is mostly made and used the same day in many houses but I am all about meal-prep. I love that I don’t have to worry about making ginger garlic everyday for every dish and yes, I use it in every recipe . I(the whole family) work hard one weekend and I am set for 3 months, no kidding!
Only preservative used in my recipe is Himalayan Salt. You can use any pure salt you have, I would suggest to not use Iodized salt. We don’t need any other preservatives at all. This is my 3 month old ginger garlic paste, can you believe it?
How to peel Ginger and garlic?
Well, this is the hardest part of all. Peeling ginger is easy , just use a knife or the back of the spoon(that’s the way our grandmas did it), it doesnt even have to super clean. Just clean the rough and hard parts and you are good to go!
Peeling garlic requires a lot of patience. We sit together as a family over a weekend and get it done. My older one and my husband are good at peeling while my little one just throws the garlic peels around yelling “SNOW”😂 I have tried many methods, but peeling by hand works the best. Picking garlic pods with big cloves is super helpful. If you do want to try, try these methods:
- Place the garlic pods in a bowl, cover with a lid tightly and shake the hell out of it! The pods separate and peels come off easily.
- My mom swears by this method and I have seen people doing it at all Indian Weddings. Apply a coat of oil to Garlic cloves and put them in the sun for about an hour. The peel comes off like magic.
- You can also use this handy Garlic peeling tube from amazon, it works great but you have to peel 3-4 cloves at a time and not a lot, I still think its better than peeling one at a time. Click on the above amazon link.
- If you are looking for a more easier way, try this already peeled bag available in the stores. I get this from our local Costco and made ginger garlic paste with them tons of times.
How to make it?
Its super easy! Just 3 ingredients and we are done. However, everyone makes it differently. Every family has their own recipe, some people use equal parts ginger and garlic, some use oil, salt and turmeric as preservatives and my mom uses 2 parts ginger and 1 part garlic. I use 2 parts ginger and 1 and 1/2 parts garlic and just salt as preservative.
Wash the ginger very well to remove the dirt and peel using a pairing knife, peeler or the back of the spoon. You don’t have to peel the ginger too much, just remove the hard root ends and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Peel your garlic in any of the ways I mentioned above. Add salt and blend coarsely. DO NOT ADD ANY WATER.
Storage process:
You can store this ginger garlic paste in the refrigerator in mason jars for up to 3 months. I use mason and leftover pasta jars, they are airtight and keep the masala fresh. You can most definitely freeze it, its lasts even longer, for up to 6 months. Freeze in ice trays and transfer them to ziploc bags once frozen. Do not use plastic containers to store your ginger garlic paste, It always turned green when I used plastic, I am not sure if plastic reacts with garlic or something.
My one batch of ginger garlic yields this much masala:
Which recipes use ginger garlic paste?
Honestly, all of them 😉. But, ginger garlic is a very important ingredient in all my biryanis. You must try them out if you like biryani. Below are a few recipes from my blog which use ginger garlic.
What happens if the ginger garlic turns green or blue?
Garlic has sulfur compounds that reacts to heat and acidity while cooking. The prepared ginger garlic can turn blue-green if the garlic is old, the garlic has been sitting in your refrigerator and then suddenly exposed to heat or even because of water added to your ginger-garlic paste. Do Not add water while making ginger garlic, use fresh garlic and also storing in glass jars will mostly prevent garlic from turning blue. But if it still does, ITS OKAY TO USE GREEN/BLUE GINGER GARLIC PASTE.
Ginger Garlic Paste
Course: Basics of Indian cooking, MasalasCuisine: IndianA staple and basic masala very much needed for Indian cooking
Ingredients
2 pounds of Ginger
1.5 pounds of peeled Garlic
1/4 cup Himalayan salt
Method
- Wash the ginger very well to remove the dirt and peel using a pairing knife, peeler or the back of the spoon and chop into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Peel your garlic in any of the ways I mentioned above. It should be about 1.5 times the amount of ginger after peeling.
- Add salt and blend coarsely.
- Store this ginger garlic paste in the refrigerator in mason jars or an airtight box.
Notes
- DO NOT add any water.
- I would suggest to use only pure salt instead of iodized salt. Himalayan or Sea salt is preferred.
- You can freeze this in ice cube tray as well, to last longer.
- I wrote the measurements in pounds just for convenience, but its basically, 2 parts ginger and 1.5 parts garlic with 1/4 cup of salt.
Please do try my version of Ginger garlic paste and you wont go back to store bought stuff again. Let me know if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you!
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