Ginger Garlic Paste Recipe

Master Indian Spice is all for making authentic Indian recipes easy. When you're making Indian food often, one ingredient you must have is ginger/garlic paste. This is an essential Indian ingredient. So, if you want to take your Indian cooking one step further into authenticity, make some ginger garlic paste and have it on hand for when you are cooking Indian food.

Ginger garlic paste is often added with the onions, or just after the onions at the beginning of preparing an Indian dish. Not only is it incredibly healthy, but it is also a key flavour component of a vast number, probably the majority, of Indian entrées. 

Ginger Garlic Paste Ingredients

- 1/2 cup peeled and chopped ginger pieces

- 1/2 cup peeled and ended garlic

- 1 tbsp oil of your choice (Canola will do fine)

Ginger Garlic Paste Prep

1. Wash the ginger and peel using a paring or a kitchen knife. Slice into small pieces.

2. To peel the garlic, we recommend using two medium metal mixing bowls, and shaking the garlic up and down in them for about one minute, it's noisy, it's smelly, but by and large, with most strains of garlic, it works amazingly to peel garlic in quantity.

How to make Ginger Garlic Paste

1. Blend your ingredients in a food processor. 

2. Scrape the sides and blend again, repeating until smooth; add up to one extra tbsp of oil if needed.

Storing your Ginger Garlic Paste

You can store your ginger garlic paste in the fridge for about a month, or in the freezer for around 6 months. In commerical kitchens, we've seen ginger garlic paste scooped with icecream scoops, frozen on sheet pans, then vacuum packed to preserve them for even longer than 6 months. You likely won't need to revert to such measures with your own ginger garlic paste, however freezing them in an ice cube tray will give you separate portions that you can thaw whenever you need them.

How to use Ginger Garlic Paste

It's simple. In your fry oil, normally you will first fry your aromatic or whole spices. If you are using a higher heat, your spices will darken and become aromatic in 15-20 seconds, but if you're frying on medium, you can give them a minute to infuse in the oil. 

Next you add your onions. When you add onions, you can add some ground spices, such as Garam Masala. It really depends on the recipe, but here we are giving some general guidelines about the layering process used in traditional Indian cooking.

Finally, after your onions begin to clarify, add your ginger garlic paste. For a 4-serving recipe, you can use between one and two tablespoons of ginger garlic paste, depending on the requirements of the recipe. Then you can let this spice/onion/ginger/garlic mix simmer for two minutes or so before adding the rest of your ingredients. 

With this process in your cooking arsenal, you will be an unstoppable Indian chef, and you are one step closer to making easy authentic Indian food at home.