Ginger Garlic Paste Recipe
Updated: August 27, 2022, By Swasthi
Ginger garlic paste is one of the most basic essentials of Indian cooking. Apart from imparting a unique aroma to the foods it also aids in digestion and helps tenderize meats. While reaching out for a jar of ginger garlic paste from an Indian store may be an easier option, but you won’t get the same unique and refreshing flavors like the homemade paste. Your homemade ginger garlic paste is clean, pure and is free from preservatives. In this post I share the easiest way to make ginger garlic paste that you can store for several months.
About Ginger Garlic Paste
Ginger garlic paste is nothing but a spice blend made with fresh ginger root and garlic cloves. Sometimes various ingredients like oil, salt, vinegar and even turmeric are added to it as a preservative.
If you cook Indian food often, having a jar of ginger garlic paste in your refrigerator, is a great convenience. You don’t need to rinse, peel, chop and crush small quantities of ginger and garlic every time you cook.
In India, most traditional households crush ginger & garlic fresh in a mortar & pestle whenever required. I agree that nothing beats the flavor of the fresh paste & it really makes a difference to your final dish.
For many years, I have made ginger garlic paste fresh for every dish I cooked. Most recipes call for sautéing the onions, during which I would peel, grate and crush the ginger garlic right on the chopping board. This is one easier way but you still have to spend some time doing all of that.
About this Recipe
This 15 mins recipe will help you make ginger garlic paste enough for 4 to 6 weeks of cooking. I prefer to make smaller batches but you can double or triple the recipe if you prefer.
This recipe is simple and just needs 3 ingredients. Fresh ginger, garlic and a splash of oil. A lot of people also add turmeric or salt as a preservative but I don’t because this is how my mom always made & it keeps good for several months.
I use equal parts of ginger and garlic. But this varies from every family and some people also use 1 part ginger and 2 parts garlic. This depends on the kind of ginger and garlic you use. Read my pro tips for more info.
For more similar recipes you can check
Sambar powder
Rasam powder
Biryani masala powder
Idli podi
Garam masala
Photo Guide
How to Make Ginger Garlic Paste (Stepwise Photos)
1. Wash ginger under running. If required use a brush to get rid of mud deposits, if any. Pat dry completely. We use equal amounts of garlic and ginger. Here I use 125 grams each.
2. Peel the garlic cloves. Chop the ginger to small pieces.
3. Add all the ingredients to a blender jar.
4. Turmeric, salt and oil are natural preservatives. Using any one of these is good enough to keep the ginger garlic paste good.
5. Make a fine paste until it turns pale and smooth.
Storage
Store ginger garlic paste in a bottle and always use dry spoons to scoop out a little when needed. For more details on storage in fridge or freezer check the recipe card below.
Pro Tips
Preservative used: Oil, turmeric and salt are the 3 ingredients which act as natural preservatives. But I feel oil is good enough which also enhances the aroma of the ground paste.
Ratio of ginger & garlic: There are different kinds of ginger root available in the market. The hybrid ginger and the non-hybrid kind. The non-hybrid kind has a very stronger aroma and taste. When used in equal quantities, the paste may lend a bitter taste. So I use 2 portions of garlic for 1 portion of ginger. If using hybrid ginger, 1:1 proportions work well.
Test Batch: If you are a newbie, run a small test batch to see how it works for you. After making your test batch cook something Indian and checkout the flavors.
If the ginger garlic paste is too gingery, blend the test batch with more garlic. Make a note of each addition so you arrive at a right proportion that suits you. If it is too garlicky, blend with more ginger
Why does ginger garlic paste turn green?
Garlic when crushed or chopped is prone to react with the minerals in the air or with the metals that it comes in contact with. Crushed garlic reacts with acidic ingredients. Sometimes pink salt, vinegar, lemon etc can also cause the discoloration in ground garlic.
So it is absolutely normal for the ground garlic to turn green or bluish green and is still safe to consume. For more details please use google search.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Ginger Garlic Paste
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 125 grams ginger (4.5 Ounce, refer notes)
- 125 grams garlic (4.5 Ounce, peeled)
- 1 tablespoon oil (I use organic refined coconut oil)
optional
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric (or haldi / optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Rinse ginger under running water. Pat dry and peel it. Chop to half to 1 inch pieces.
- Cut off both the ends of garlic. Peel them.
- You can also add them to a box or tight lid container. Cover the jar and shake it vigorously for a minute. You will see the skin of the garlic loosens or comes off. This tip works only with certain kinds of garlic.
- You can also pour some oil over the garlic and rub off to loosen the skin. (This is how we peel garlic when we make pickles.)
How to Make Ginger Garlic Paste
- Add ginger, garlic and oil to a grinder/ blender jar. Blend well until smooth and light in color. Scrape off the sides and repeat blending until you see a smooth mixture.
- Transfer the ginger garlic paste to a clean dry glass jar. Refrigerate ginger garlic paste up to a month or 6 months in a freezer.
- To Freeze, transfer to ice tray and knock the tray to the counter a few times. Cover with a cling wrap. Once set transfer them to a ziplock bag. Use as desired whenever needed by defrosting one cube each time.
Notes
- You may start with lesser amounts of ginger and add as required to suit your taste.
- There are many kinds of ginger and they differ in flavor and strength. Run a small test batch to make ginger garlic paste. Cook with it first. If it is too gingery, add more garlic and blend. If it is too garlicy, add more ginger and blend. Note down the additions so you know the exact amounts that work well for you.
- I always peel the ginger. Sometimes it imparts bitter tones to the ginger garlic paste.
- Make sure you don’t use garlic with shoots. They will discolor your ginger garlic paste to green or blue overtime.
- Avoid using water to make ginger garlic paste, as the moisture splatters when you add it to the pan while cooking. You also want to fry the ginger garlic in oil to bring out the aroma and this is best achieved when you make the paste without water.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Thank you for sharing your recipes🙏🏽
Solved my problem and worked perfectly. Thank you
These are the best recipes ?
How much salt I should add in 1kg ginger garlic paste ?
Hi… Thanks for your site, I love it. I’ve made this garlic and ginger paste today but used extra virgin olive oil (I own an olive finca and have an abundance of it). Will this work?
Hi Gail,
You are welcome! Yes you can use it
How much oil do I need to use ?
Please check the recipe card. It is 125 grams ginger, 125 grams garlic and 1 tablespoon oil
Which is the best grinder for making ginger garlic paste and other curry pastes? Somehow the usual chutney jar in the mixer grinder requires a large quantity of oil to blend properly.
The grinder used in this post is from Preeti. I also use ultra mixer grinder, National Panasonic and Philips blender with a small glass jar. Look for something that has a small jar, that won’t require a lot of ingredients and oil/liquid.
I always have a large jar of this in my fridge. I use it for pretty much any recipe that calls for crushed garlic and/or grated ginger. In my rural community coconut oil is not an option, so I use peanut oil. I add both salt and turmeric.
Great recipes !!!! Delicious and informative
I made this and wrote a nice review but the pop-ups made me lose it.
Briefly thank you for convincing me to make my own garam marsala. I used a lot more than you call for but I also used more ginger and garlic.
Thank you for getting me over that hump! This was my first Indian dish ldue to fear of garam marsala.
Thank you Thom!
Actually we don’t have any pop-ups on the blog. Do you mean an ad?
The jarred stuff I bought from the store was foul and stinky, and could be considered a chemical weapon. This recipe is SO much better, better flavor and it smells fresh and delicious. Easy to make in a food processor, too.
Thank you Christopher.
Yes the store bought paste can’t be compared with the homemade.
Thank you
looks interesting, but be aware that garlic + oil stored at room temperature is a botulism risk. Botulism bacteria lives in garlic and grows very well in environments with low oxygen and water (such as in oil).
Hi Esther,
Thank you! I have edited the post to remove the method of storing it at room temperature.
Hi swasthi,
Can I just make a big batch and then freeze paste directly in 8 Oz Mason jars in freezer Instead ice cube trays ? I can then take out one jar as and when required and use it in a week or two by refrigerating the one in use.
Thanks,
Nilofar
Hi Nilofar,
Yes you can freeze it. I do it the same way but in smaller jars.
Hi Swasthi,
I made the ginger garlic paste a couple days ago, and I think it was well worth the effort. I’ve noticed that even with equal quantities of ginger and garlic, the ginger flavor comes through more strongly than the garlic both raw and in the finished dish. Is this to be expected? I personally find that ginger has a stronger flavor than garlic anyway, but the difference shouldn’t be quite this stark.
I love ginger so I’m not upset that it tastes gingery, but I am disappointed that I don’t taste very much of the garlic. Would it be worth making separate ginger paste and garlic paste in the future so I can amp up the garlic flavor?
Hi Rina,
No! a strong flavor is not expected. As mentioned in the post there are 2 kinds of ginger. One is the stronger kind which is too strong and tastes little bitter even after cooking. I think you should try the other kind or from another brand or grown in another region. If you can’t then you should fine tune this recipe to your taste. My mom always made with 1 part ginger and 2 parts garlic. But when I made the same it was too garlicky and made mine pungent. 1:1 works well for me. Experiment adding more garlic (another 65 grams) to the paste you already made. Check if that is alright. So next time you know how much to use. Storing them separately also works but every time you need to handle 2 jars. Hope this helps
Hi Swasthi,
I’m a little embarrassed now that I see you did mention this in the post. Totally on me for jumping straight to the recipe. I’ll try adding more garlic. Thinking about it now, for most applications where I use ginger and/or garlic, a combined paste would probably make more sense anyways. I’ll definitely be curious to see if I can taste a major difference in pungency between ginger in different stores. Thank you for your help!
Hi Rina,
No problem! Yes try it.
Can you tell me where you get that blender jar? What’s it called?
Hi,
Look for an Indian mixer grinder on amazon. This is a preeti Mixer, steel model. Not so good. It lasted only a few months. Read the local reviews on amazon and choose.
Can I substitute Hing for ginger garlic paste?
No
I love garlic when I,was growing up, my father made toast, topped it with slices of onion and garlic. Maybe thats why he passed at 86 and I’m 96! I cant take very spicy food and knowing Indian food is, perhaps uou can direct me to some that can be made with local, Mexican not too spicy veggies. I’m staying away from meat so maybe fish dishes would be appreciated and appropriate. Awaiting. Gerry
I have just found your website and can’t wait to try your recipes!
I would like a small metal cup blender as shown in your pictures of the garlic ginger paste recipe.
can you tell me what it is called, the brand or where I could find one? I like in New Mexico USA, there is not much here in the way of shopping.
Thank you!
Hi Jayne
Thank you. It is called an Indian mixer grinder. You can find many brands on amazon. The one I used in this post is from Preeti. Hope this helps.
Can you use reconstituted garlic and ginger powder to make the paste. If so in what ratio.
I haven’t tried. So not sure if the flavor will be the same
Great site, all simply and well explained for non indians.
Thank you
I love Indian chutney
Cann you please include some in your site? Specially ones with ginger in them
Hi,
Please check this link for chutney recipes