The Pantry / Ginger-garlic paste
Ginger-garlic paste
Two roots, one paste, a thousand pots.
What it is
Ginger-garlic paste is exactly what it says — fresh ginger and garlic ground together into a smooth paste, kept ready to spoon into the base of a dish. It is less an ingredient than a convenience the two make together, so constant a pairing that they are prepared as one.
Where it comes from
The paste is a everyday feature of subcontinental kitchens, ground fresh in batches or bought jarred. The usual ratio is roughly equal, sometimes weighted to one or the other by region and cook.
What it's called
Ginger-garlic paste · adrak-lehsun paste. Made from ginger (adrak/ada) and garlic (lasan/rosun).
In the kitchen
A spoonful goes into hot oil after the onions, cooked until its raw smell lifts and it turns fragrant — the second building block of a gravy. Making it fresh in batches (with a little oil to preserve it) beats the jarred version, which can taste of preservative.
What we know about the claims
Carries the everyday virtues of its two parts and no more; used as a base seasoning. The only practical note is that shop paste often includes preservatives and can taste of them.
Choosing and buying
Sold jarred in every South Asian grocer and supermarket (UK and US), or made fresh in a blender and refrigerated. Fresh is markedly better.