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Talk of Indian cuisine, and one is immediately reminded of those robust and distinct flavours brought about by the wide range of spices we use in our food. While all your garam masala, haldi, and dhaniya powder are important, ginger and garlic are the staple ingredients that are used to cook almost all Indian dishes. Be it your spicy curries, aromatic biryani or tantalising chutneys, these two ingredients are often used to make a delicious base for so many foods that we relish every day.
But the taste alone isn’t the reason ginger and garlic are extensively used in so many dishes. The two ingredients also come with various other properties that are beneficial for our health. Why else is Adrak Wali Chai often preferred during cold and cough? Raw garlic with a glass of water too is known to ease stomach ailments when consumed in the morning.
Most Indian homes prefer having a ginger-garlic paste prepared and stored well in advance, as it can be quite a task to peel, grate or ground these spices every time we begin to cook. While you can get ginger garlic paste from the market, which makes our job easier, making it at home is always a fresh, better, and healthier option. After all, we know that the ones we get from the market are laced with preservatives to keep them good for a long time. A homemade paste will be free of preservatives and you can make asper your requirement.
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If you too want to make ginger-garlic paste at home, and find a smarter way to cook flavourful meals with this paste without putting in so much effort every single time, we might be able to help you here. Here’s a step-by-step guide to make and store ginger-garlic paste will help keep it fresh for months together.
1. Take ginger and garlic in equal quantities, and make sure that both the spices are ripe and fresh.
2. Peel and cut the spices into small pieces, wash them and let them dry on an absorbent paper towel.
3. Blend the ginger and garlic pieces in a blender along with one teaspoon of oil and salt each. Blend until it is a smooth paste.
4. Now to store, cover a tray with cling paper tightly. Scoop out separate scoops of ginger-garlic paste and place on the paper separately. Cover the tray again with cling paper and put it in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
5. When the paste binds into firm balls, remove the cling paper and transfer all the individual ginger-garlic balls in a zip lock back. Leave one side of the zip open.
6. Now, insert a straw through the open end and blow out excessive air from the zip lock bag and immediately take out the straw and zip it close.
7. Store the zip lock bag in the freezer and use the paste from it whenever required.
This method will keep your ginger-garlic paste fresh for over a month. This homemade preservative-free paste is sure to make your meals all the more yummy.
