Easy ginger and garlic paste will give you a fresher, punchier shortcut for many dishes, Indian or not. This essential building block adds a savoriness and a heavenly aroma to your cooking.
Wash and dry the ginger thoroughly. With a spoon, vegetable peeler, or knife, peel and then roughly chop it.
If you don't have peeled garlic, peel it unless it is very young. I have tips for peeling garlic in the Notes below.
Into a blender, add all the ingredients you are using and blend to a smooth paste, scraping down the sides of the blender jar as needed. If your blender needs more liquid in order to process properly, add an additional tablespoon of water or oil.
Store in an airtight jar in the refrigerator and if you used the ingredients for preservation, the paste will stay fresh for up to four weeks. Or spoon tablespoons of the paste into an ice cube tray. When the cubes are frozen, store them in a resealable bag. YIELD: Approximately 1 cup of ginger and garlic paste.
Notes
Any added moisture will increase the possibility of spoilage. If you are not freezing your paste make sure both ginger and garlic are as dry as possible before blending.
Find the freshest garlic possible. If there are any green shoots, remove them as they tend to be bitter.
If your ginger is young and has tender skin, you don’t need to peel it,
I find peeling garlic almost too boring for words. Here are some shortcuts:
Buy already peeled garlic
Pop separated garlic cloves in the microwave and heat them on high for about 20 seconds. If the peels still don’t come off easily, add more time in 10-second increments.
You can try soaking garlic cloves in water for 15 minutes and the skins loosen.
Blanch the cloves in boiling water for a minute or so, then run under cold water to stop the cooking. This also makes the job a bit easier.
The chef's trick is to smash garlic cloves with the side of a knife, which loosens the skin.
Whole fresh ginger will keep in the freezer for several months; you can grate it frozen. Wrap it in a paper towel and then tuck it in a freezer bag to store.
Turmeric, oil, salt, and vinegarare added to increase the shelf life of homemade ginger and garlic paste. Omit if you will be using up within 3 days or storing it in the freezer.