A simple kitchen trick is helping home cooks skip the trip to the market for ginger-garlic paste and still keep a jar fresh for a full six months. Many working people reach for the ready-made paste sold in stores simply to save time, but that convenience comes at a cost: packaged paste is loaded with preservatives and never quite matches the aroma and taste of a paste ground fresh at home. For anyone tired of peeling garlic and pounding ginger every other day, this method solves both problems at once, cutting prep time down while keeping the paste tasting home-made for months.
What You Need
The recipe uses just two ingredients: 1 kilogram of garlic, cleaned and completely dried, and half a cup of oil, which replaces the water normally used while grinding.
The Fastest Way to Peel a Kilo of Garlic
Peeling is usually the most tedious part of making ginger-garlic paste, but a simple trick clears a whole kilo in minutes. Start by separating the garlic cloves, skin still on, or chopping them lightly. Sprinkle a little corn flour or maida over the cloves, then rub the garlic firmly between your hands. The corn flour or maida makes the skins let go of the cloves almost instantly. Next, tip the garlic into a plate or a large bowl and shake or toss it vigorously so the loosened skins fly off and separate from the cloves. Rinse the peeled garlic thoroughly in clean water, then dry it completely before moving on. Once dried, the full kilo of garlic is ready to be turned into paste.
Getting the Ginger Ready
For the ginger, lightly scrape the skin off using a knife rather than peeling it thickly, then chop it into small pieces so it grinds down smoothly and easily.
The Real Trick: Swap Water for Oil
Most people pour a splash of water into the mixer jar while grinding ginger-garlic paste, but that water is exactly what makes the paste spoil quickly and turn the color dull and dark. Instead, when you add the peeled garlic and finely chopped ginger to the mixer jar, pour in half a cup of vegetable oil in place of water. Oil works as a natural preservative and is what stretches the paste's shelf life out to months rather than days. Once the oil is in, run the mixer until the garlic and ginger blend into a smooth, fine paste.
Storing It So It Lasts Six Months
After grinding, let the paste cool down completely before doing anything else with it. Transfer it into an airtight steel or glass container or bottle, making sure the container is completely dry before the paste goes in. Once sealed, place the bottle in the refrigerator. Because of the oil mixed into it, the paste will stay good for a full six months without spoiling, without any change in taste, and the color will stay just as fresh as the day it was made. Try the hack this weekend, and the daily hassle of peeling and grinding is off the to-do list for the next six months.
