Ginger Garlic paste is an absolute must-have if you love Indian/Asian cuisines.
Having the paste at hand saves time, especially when you’re preparing a dish from scratch, and it instantly adds a ton of flavor.
What is it?
Ginger Garlic paste is an essential tastemaker in most Indian recipes, especially curries and stir-fries.
It’s an uncooked aromatic condiment that packs quite a flavorful punch when used in moderation.
Most Indian kitchens either have a pre-made batch of ginger garlic paste stored in their refrigerators, or else they make fresh paste every time they cook a new meal.
In today’s fast-paced world, making a larger batch and storing it for the next few weeks can work as a blessing and save you a lot of time and effort.
While ginger and garlic as a paste are most commonly used in Indian cooking, they can additionally be used in non-Indian cuisines as well.
You can mix the paste to Asian dishes such as chicken chow mein or bok choy soup because it mixes in really well.
Ingredients
There are only two basic ingredients that you need to make Ginger Garlic paste.
- Fresh Peeled Ginger
- Fresh Peeled Garlic
You should make sure that you’re using only the most fresh ingredients available.
Freshness of the ginger and garlic used directly impacts the overall flavor quality.
It’s important that the ginger and garlic that you use to make the paste should not be more than 2-3 days old.
You can recognize old ginger/garlic from new by checking the skin of the ingredient.
Normally, the skin starts to shrivel up if the produce are more than 3-4 days old.
Pro Tip: Just poke with your nail into the ginger and if some root juice comes out, you will know that the ginger is as fresh as it can be.
Additionally, you may add the following optional ingredients to your paste to aid in preserving the paste for longer.
- Vinegar - varieties such as common cooking vinegar, white wine vinegar, or rice vinegar can be added to the ginger garlic since it kills bacteria and helps in preserving the condiment for a longer period of time. Coconut vinegar is the traditional choice in Goa, India.
- Turmeric powder - Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder can also be added as a way to preserve and also to add some color to the Ginger Garlic paste.
It is very important to note that you should never add any water to the Ginger Garlic paste.
Water accelerates mold and promotes bacterial growth, making the paste go bad at a faster rate.
How to make it?
Here is an overview on how to prepare ginger garlic paste from scratch at home. The complete recipe is further below.
Step 1 - prep
Peel and cut your fresh ginger and fresh garlic in easily blendable chunks.
Step 2 - blend
Blend together in a food processor until it turns into a fine paste.
What if I don’t have a food processor/blender?
Don’t worry, you can alternatively use a stone mortar and pestle if you don’t have a food processor or blender.
The only slight difference is that the paste made with mortar and pestle will be a bit on the chunkier side and not as fine as the one made in a food processor.
This does not affect the flavor so it’s not a big deal.
Storing
You can store your homemade Ginger Garlic paste in a clean, sterilized glass jar.
Just make sure the jar is completely dry and the lid is rust-free.
If you add vinegar as a preservative, then this paste can last for up to 6 months, as long as it is kept refrigerated.
Without the vinegar, just the two-ingredient Ginger Garlic paste can last for up to 2 months in the refrigerator.
It is also a good idea to freeze the Ginger Garlic paste in ice cube trays and then store in a vacuum bag in the freezer. Frozen paste will last much longer.
Uses
Ginger Garlic paste is a staple in Indian dishes and can also be used extensively in Asian preparations.
It gives great flavor and rich, aromatic texture to the curry dishes especially.
It also thickens the curries and sauces since ginger has thickening properties.
Ginger and garlic turned into a paste also work as a great meat tenderizer.
So for households that love their Asian meat dishes, this paste can be a godsend.
Both ginger and garlic can be prepared in separate pastes too if need be, with the same quantities in the recipe.
Some recipes only require ginger paste and some only need garlic. So making separate pastes could be a good idea as well.
Ginger, garlic, and vinegar work as natural food preservatives when combined.
You’ll find that dishes in which this paste has been added last longer in the fridge than the ones without the garlic and ginger paste.
You can also use the paste to get rid of the fish smell on your seafood. In Goa, they tend to marinate fresh sea fish with the paste before they cook the fish.
This wonderfully versatile paste is used in dishes like Tandoori Chicken (to marinate the meat) and Chicken Tikka Masala (to build a thick and creamy curry).
Ginger and Garlic paste is also an amazing beef steak tenderizer and works as well as green papaya paste (another all-natural meat tenderizer).
FAQs
⅔ garlic + ⅓ ginger (2 parts garlic and 1 part ginger)
Peel and finely chop garlic and grate ginger in the same ratio as above (⅔ garlic + ⅓ ginger).
Yes, you can absolutely double the quantities of Ginger and Garlic in the same ratio to make a larger batch.
It is called “Adrak Lehsun paste” in Hindi.
Homemade Ginger Garlic paste is preferable because you know what’s going into it. Plus, there are no artificial preservatives as there are in store-bought. The flavor is also much fresher when it’s homemade.
Naturally occurring sulfur in the garlic interacts with garlic enzymes, occasionally turning it slightly green or blue. Sometimes the color change happens, other times it doesn't. Shifts in temperature, pH, and the age of the garlic can also affect the coloring, so heating it or mixing it with something acidic like vinegar might have some effect. It is still totally safe to consume. The color change does not mean that your paste has gone bad.
No. You need fresh ingredients to make this condiment.
The storage jars need to be sterilized and canned using the “Water Bath Canning” technique so that your food can last longer, even without refrigeration. You can refer to my detailed guide explaining the "Water Bath Canning” process.
Dear reader, how are you planning to use the ginger garlic paste?
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Ginger Garlic Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 ounces Garlic peeled
- 3.5 ounces Ginger peeled
- ~⅓ cup White Vinegar I use Coconut Vinegar
Instructions
- Peel your garlic and ginger.
- Cut your ginger into chunks.
- Blend the garlic, ginger and vinegar to a fine paste. When doing so you might want to work in batches or your blender will get overloaded. Do not add any water because that will reduce the shelf life of the paste.
- Store the smooth paste in a clean jar and keep in the fridge for further use.
I make Ginger Garlic Paste in the ratio Ginger 500 grams to 759 grams Garlic and I add Apple Cider Vinegar to grind it to a fine paste in my Kitchenaid Blender., It lasts for months in the fridge, I also make them in ice cube trays and freeze it, this could be an easier option to take what I actually require and it could stay for a year or longer.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Trevor. I love the ice cube tray idea to freeze the paste in batches.
I read on another site that adding vodka to the ginger garlic paste would preserve it and doesn't change the flavor profile. Just another idea for consideration.
Thanks for sharing this Estelle. I personally think I will stick to vinegar in my food 🙂
I just made this with rice vinegar and it's great, and smells divine! Thanks for the recipe.
That's a fantastic idea to try homemade ginger garlic paste with rice vinegar! Thank you for your comment Jo. 🙂
so good and essential in Indian cuisine I should make my own.
How long can we preserve garlic-ginger paste prepared by this method.Can we use synthetic vinegar?
You can store the freshly made ginger garlic paste for up to 3 months in a cool and dry place, such as the fridge. Don't add water as it will reduce the shelf life. That's why we use only vinegar to preserve it naturally. You can use synthetic vinegar as well, however the flavor might be a bit less intense. That's your choice after all. 🙂
Hi Helene, I don't cook Indian very often so this paste may not last for me. Have you ever tried freezing it? I often freeze this type of thing in an ice cube tray and then pop them out into a ziplock baggie for future use.
Eva I am not sure if it makes sense to freeze ginger garlic paste. I tried freezing ginger and garlic in a whole at separate times and I didn't like the consistency and color it was taking after it thawed. However, I do like your ice cube freezing idea, it sounds convenient and I might just try it myself. Let me know if you tried to freeze the ginger garlic paste this way, I am sure some of us would be interested in the outcome.
Don't defrost the ginger tubor, just grate it on a microplane, you needn't even peel it. This is how I store ginger as I don't use it as often.
cool idea! I would like to try that sometimes. I can imagine those ginger flakes for tea making.
Hey,
how long can you store the paste in the fridge?
Cheers,
Sophia
Hi Sophia,
I think you can store ginger garlic paste for up to 3 months in the fridge as long as you don't add water. If you feel that the recipe quantity is too much, half the recipe, that means 125 grams peeled garlic, 40 grams peeled ginger and 34 milliliter white vinegar.
I'm always looking for healthy, minimally processed ways to add flavor to my dishes, and this sounds fantastic! I actually featured your post on my blog's Weekend Wrap-Up today, and hope you'll stop by to check it out. Thanks for such a wonderful idea, and enjoy your weekend!
http://www.floptimism.com/2013/10/weekend-wrap-up-self-love.html
Oh, so simple, but so useful... I didn't realise everything would be raw... I guess I always thought it might be cooked a little bit (which doesn't make sense, I know :p)
It looks really nice - do you know how long it will keep for?
I love ginger-garlic paste! It's such a convenience and it is so good in many different dishes. Great jar of paste!
Thanks a lot! It was great therefore easy to create.
Oh this is sooo handy Helene! All indian recipes always call for this and it's so good to ahve a jar of this on hand! A homemade version is such a wonderful idea. Good one xx
I love, love this flavor combination, Helene! What an excellent timesaver to have this paste on hand 🙂 Hope you're enjoying your weekend.
G'day Helen, I have bookmarked this, true!
I have never used coconut vinegar before and now am on the search for it too...thank you for allowing me today to learn something new!
Cheers! Joanne
Cannot imagine cooking without this! And yours is such an easy recipe 🙂 !
I can't say a lot of ginger and I get along well but this paste looks too good to not be tried 😀
Cheers
CCU
Helene, a beautiful post and so informative. Your pictures are awe inspiring too!
This is a must in my kitchen!! I love making this paste. 🙂
I make this all the time, and never thought of blogging about it!! Brilliant! You always give me such awesome ideas about things I can write about.
You are amazing for sharing this essential staple of almost every Indian and especially Goan kitchen!
Really good recipe! I made ginger garlic paste in small quantities whenever I need it. I really should make a big batch sometime - it's such delicious stuff. Really good post - thanks.
Ginger and Garlic.... what a combination. I think we better make this before garlic prices try to catch up with that of the onion 🙂