Topic: A note on garlic/ginger paste

[Muttley]

It's always best to make up a batch of garlic/ginger with a blender/hand blender/mixer, and freeze it. It's nigh on impossible to make a paste of these ingredients (especially the ginger) in small quantities.

Although various recipies call for different ratios of these ingredients, unless one of them is a particular focus of the dish, I find a 50/50 mix works well (of course, you may prefer a different ratio or even more than 1).

Whenever required, I get about 150 grms each of peeled ginger and garlic, chop them up, place them in the container that comes with a hand blender with some oil, and puree them. I then use some, and freeze the rest in an ice cube tray.

I also make some cubes with chilli added before pureeing, as fresh chilli has a better flavour than dried, and a little is appropriate in many dishes.

[Yousef]

Just to let you know i use Patak's Ginger and Patak's Garlic paste : in the jars, available in all Supermarkets.

Makes it a lot easier.

Enjoy

[Muttley]

I've never seen that one. It would make life easier. Do the contents actually smell like fresh ginger and garlic?

I experimented with an oil based paste (much the same as described above, but with more oil), but the flavour seemed to change quite a lot over the first day or so.

[pete]

I've never seen that one. It would make life easier. Do the contents actually smell like fresh ginger and garlic?

No they don't smell fresh.
The bottled blends are good but have an extra taste.
Nishaan and East End both make them.
You will probably recognise the "extra" flavour because restaurants do use them from time to time

[traveller]

I recently bought the Sood's brand minced ginger in the bottle and it is horrible!!  I thought instead of getting ginger often, I would just use that but it has an awful flavor and smell!

Payal

[railway]

I quite agree with paast10...prepered ginger is nothing like the real thing but minced garlic is passable. ;D

[Bob_McBob]

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but it is related and I'm not sure it merits a new one.  When I prepare garlic and ginger for Indian cooking, I run it through a "microplane" grater which basically gets it to the consistency of a paste without any more grinding.  It is the only tool I've ever found that can grate up ginger so effectively.

[Chilli Prawn]

Hi Bob, there is a couple of threads in existence (there would be wouldn't there  ) about grating, microplanes we use them) and the subject of Garlic & Ginger paste(s).

Cheers
CP