I distinctly remember when I tasted store bought ginger paste. I stock up on Indian groceries since the store is 3 hours away and at times I buy a few items with the assumption that it will be needed. The ginger paste and garlic paste landed at home with the assumption that I will use it someday. But, for some reason I always ground the ginger and garlic for the dishes and the bottles remained unopened. That was the same time my mom visited us and she asked me about the bottles. I told her that she can use it if she wants. We opened the bottle and I could immediately smell the vinegar in it and was completely put off.

Just to avoid throwing it away, my mom started using it in the dishes she cooks and we all slowly got accustomed to the store bought paste. Fast forward to now, I wanted to go back to making it fresh and was waiting for the DIO event featuring ginger and garlic. There is really no recipe to this, just add the ingredients to the blender and blend. To improve the shelf life, I avoid using water and stick with oil for the paste. Off to the recipe.

My Notes
1. Using water to blend will reduce the shelf life.
2. You can store it for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator. For long term storage, freeze. To freeze, place it in ziploc bags and flatten the bag so you can break off chunks when needed.

Last Year : Savory Kuzhi Paniyaram
Pictorial
1. Fresh ginger ready for the paste. I peel the ginger using a butter knife or the back of a spoon.

2. Ginger peeled and clean.3. Chop the ginger into small pieces. Peel the garlic.4. Take the ginger and garlic in a blender or food processor.5. Add oil.6. Add salt.7. Blend well to form a paste.
Fresh paste ready.
Ready for the freezer.Enjoy!
Linking to DIO – Ginger and Garlic.

 

 

 

Linking to Basics, Tips & Tricks.