Ginger-Garlic Paste
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Ginger-Garlic Paste is pretty much the core to plenty of Indian dishes. If you’ve read any of my other Indian recipes, most likely you’ve come across Ginger-Garlic Paste and you’ve been redirected here!
Of course you can buy it at the store, but I did it once and ONLY ONCE and I was extremely dissatisfied! It certainly is not the same thing as homemade and it’s a huge waste of money. Since then, I’ve always made my own. I know it can be tedious to make it fresh every time, but this recipe will show you how to make a large batch of ginger-garlic paste so it can last you for plenty of meals! It’s only a 10-15 minute recipe and carving out this bit of effort will most definitely save you time in the long run when you actually will need some ginger-garlic paste for immediate use! You can really just grab your portion and toss it into your dish, and you may have seen me do that a lot in my recipe videos! Ginger-Garlic Paste is freezer-friendly and can be used directly from frozen in your recipes.
Getting prepped is a key to success in the kitchen. Knowing that you’ve got ginger-garlic paste on hand can open the doors to your motivation to get creative, as you won’t have to dread making some fresh ginger-garlic paste! To learn more about how having an awareness of what’s in your kitchen can lead you to cook up something incredible, check out my free top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!. If you’re new to Indian cooking, then having some ginger-garlic paste on hand is honestly such a huge step! I’ve got a list of recipes that use ginger-garlic paste later on in this post, so be sure to try them out as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge as part of the Destinations Unseen theme! Get theses resources to start your cooking journey and never miss a new recipe by signing up to my newsletter!
Check out how you can prep up a large batch of ginger-garlic paste in a jiffy by watching the video at the bottom of this post! I’d love it if you subscribe to my YouTube channel if you haven’t already, and be sure to press the bell button so you get notified whenever a video recipe goes live! Let’s get blending!
What is Ginger-Garlic Paste?
Ginger-garlic paste is an essential core ingredient that’s the foundation for plenty of Indian recipes. In Hindi, it is known as adrak-lesun, where adrak translates to ginger and lesun translates to garlic. Ginger-garlic paste is often paired with onions, chilies and cumin, helping to form the base flavour in a curry. This is a must have for any Indian cook, and the only time period when an Indian household cooks without ginger and garlic is during auspicious religious times which require fasting.
Why You’re Losing Out With Store-Bought Ginger-Garlic Paste
I have fallen victim to the “convenience” aspect of having a prepared ginger and garlic paste, usually you only see them being sold separately. I have always questioned the freshness level of the jarred variety, in addition to the strong, bitter smell.
Also, looking at the ingredient list, instead of expecting just ginger and/or garlic with some oil, you find a long list of ingredients you cannot identify. This recipe contains 2 simple ingredients if using straight away, ginger and garlic. You know that the freshness is guaranteed, and flavour wise, you can’t beat a homemade paste!
Why This Method Works For the Best Ginger-Garlic Paste
The end all and be all, the purpose of this recipe is to make a paste out of a certain ratio of ginger and garlic, and save time doing it. A food processor, which is powerful, will sort this job in a few seconds and you will be a happy camper.
What’s the Ratio For Ginger Garlic Paste?
I always go for a 2 to 1 ratio that consists of 2 parts garlic and one parts ginger. Ginger and garlic paste is normally used to add a rich aroma and flavour to the dish and the ratio has a big impact on the intensity of the flavour. You can experiment with other ratios to find one that best suits your personal preferences.
Tools for Ginger-Garlic Paste
Ingredients for Ginger-Garlic Paste
Scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button for all ingredient quantities and to save the recipe instructions for later. You can also scale the recipe based on how much Ginger-Garlic Paste you would like to make - so you can make just a single portion or a huge batch to freeze for easy prep!
Ginger: Peeled and chopped fresh ginger used here. You can peel with a spoon.
Garlic: Peeled whole cloves of garlic.
Olive oil: Added at the end to help preserve the paste so it doesn’t change in colour by oxidizing.
Water: To help blend the ginger and garlic. Add as needed.
How to Make Ginger-Garlic Paste
Peel the garlic cloves and place in a food processor.
Peel the ginger and chop into roughly garlic clove sized pieces, the ratio is 2 parts garlic, 1 part ginger and then add to food processor
Add 1-2 Tbsp of water, and pureé. If the mixture is too dry, add more water, 1 Tbsp at a time until pureéd.
Transfer the paste to an airtight container and top with the olive oil. Lightly mix the oil on the top layer and then store in the fridge for a few days or freezer in smaller portions in a freezer bag.
TIPS FOR perfect Ginger-Garlic Paste
Cut the ginger pieces into similar sized diced portions as the cloves and then calculate the 2:1, garlic to ginger ratio, just count the pieces.
If you are using ginger peel in your paste, make sure to thoroughly wash and scrape any dirt or grime from the ginger root.
Always add water to the food processor about 1 Tbsp at a time to ensure the paste doesn’t turn watery.
Make sure to immediately wash the food processor to remove any odours and for any lingering ones, you can make a mixture with water out of vinegar or baking soda. Lime or lemon juice works well too.
How to Use Ginger-Garlic Paste
Honestly you can use it in nearly every recipe that calls for ginger and garlic! Here are only a handful of recipes that feature ginger-garlic paste on the blog:
Why Is My Ginger-Garlic Paste Not Smooth?
This could be as a result of two issues:
Your food processor was not able to process the ginger-garlic to a paste if the amount you’re processing is too little. Try doubling the recipe and adding some water to allow the blades to move.
The food processor is not capable of processing the ginger-garlic to a smooth paste.
Why Did my Ginger-Garlic Paste Turn Green?
It's important to understand that a ginger-garlic paste turning green is not necessarily a sign of spoilage or harmful bacteria. Air exposure and oxidation of the various sulfurous compounds in garlic can result in the green colour. The colour change can also indicate that the quality of the ginger-garlic paste has degraded which may affect its taste and aroma. Check if the paste has developed any strong, off odor or if you notice presence of mold.
Always store ginger-garlic paste in a cool, air-tight container and consume within a few days. For longer term storage, it’s better to freeze the paste into smaller portions according to your needs.
Can I use Homemade Ginger-Garlic Paste to replace Fresh Garlic and Ginger?
For some dishes that require ginger-garlic paste, of course. Having the paste already prepped ahead of time is a real time saver. However, some dishes require ginger and garlic to be chopped fine, since not only does that affect the texture, but also the flavour. Hope this helped you decide!
How to Store Ginger-Garlic Paste
Refrigerator
The oily top layer will help keep the ginger-garlic paste fresh for longer. If storing in the refrigerator in a mason jar or airtight container, the ginger-garlic paste should last for 2-3 weeks. Remember to top it off with oil, if you scoop some out.
Freezer
If freezing, an efficient method is to use an ice-cube tray and portion out the ginger-garlic paste. When it is time to cook, you can use the frozen pieces straightaway without waiting for it to defrost. I also like freezing it flat in a ziploc bag, then cutting it into little circles for the portion that I need.
Watch How to Make Ginger-Garlic Paste here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!