Easy 8 min Ginger Garlic Paste ( OPOS® method) by DK on Nov 22, 2017
Many a time we have a tendency to overthink or make an assumption that might not be a reality at all. That attitude overflows into our cooking as well. We think a certain dish would be difficult to make and hence buy them readymade from stores. But it most probably would have taken just few minutes of our time to put together. All it would take is the inclination to do it on your own and a little planning around it. Like this Ginger Garlic paste. I met someone today who has been buying it for ever and while talking about brands, got talking about making some at home. She seemed shocked at how easy it seemed and was like - "Really? Is that all to this? Are you sure?". Ha! I totally know that feeling since we all have been at some point - been there, done that!
There are 3 commonly used ways of making Ginger Garlic paste.
Method 1: Instant Method: Shelf Life - Short
Blend the ginger and garlic together in the blender until smooth. At this stage it will last about a week to 10 days refrigerated.
Method 2: Intermediate Method: Shelf Life - About Two to Three Weeks refrigerated.
Blend the ginger and garlic until smooth. Add some oil and salt (optional).
Method 3: Best Method for Preservation: Shelf Life - One to two Months at least.
Blend the ginger and garlic until smooth. Heat generous amount of oil in a pan and cook the paste until it loses its moisture content. Make sure not to burn it. Cool and store refrigerated.
Or you can follow this 4th Method that I would be elaborating today. Its more on the lines of Method 3, but without the stirring and cleaning up any splattering mess on the stove later. Its as simple as it can get for the amount of months it lasts in the fridge (of course provided, you adopt the sterilized storage methods - No hands, fresh clean and dry spoon every time you use, air tight container and refrigeration!)
Method 1: Instant Method: Shelf Life - Short
Blend the ginger and garlic together in the blender until smooth. At this stage it will last about a week to 10 days refrigerated.
Method 2: Intermediate Method: Shelf Life - About Two to Three Weeks refrigerated.
Blend the ginger and garlic until smooth. Add some oil and salt (optional).
Method 3: Best Method for Preservation: Shelf Life - One to two Months at least.
Blend the ginger and garlic until smooth. Heat generous amount of oil in a pan and cook the paste until it loses its moisture content. Make sure not to burn it. Cool and store refrigerated.
Or you can follow this 4th Method that I would be elaborating today. Its more on the lines of Method 3, but without the stirring and cleaning up any splattering mess on the stove later. Its as simple as it can get for the amount of months it lasts in the fridge (of course provided, you adopt the sterilized storage methods - No hands, fresh clean and dry spoon every time you use, air tight container and refrigeration!)
- Cook time:
- Prep time:
- Yields: About 1 cup
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 cup peeled Garlic
- 1 cup skinned Ginger , see Tips for Ginger - Garlic Proportion
Tips
1.Ginger-Garlic Proportion: It all comes down to personal taste, but I mostly use equal proportion of Ginger and Garlic. But having said that, the flavor also decides this proportion for me. I find occasionally some Organic Ginger that has potent flavor. Its easy for me to figure the difference since I use a little in tea every morning and if that particular batch has a much profound flavor, I would use Ginger half of Garlic for that batch. I would suggest knowing the flavor profile of current stash helps in deciding the proportion.
Method
1.
If you have mature ginger with wrinkly and brown skin, peel it before chopping. Young ginger has a soft, yellow skin that has less pungent taste than mature ginger (hence you can increase the amount without fear of overpowering garlic) and does not need peeling. You can straightaway chop and use it in this recipe.If you have to peel, well then, skinning a ginger is a chore by itself! I prefer to use a spoon in skinning the Ginger since it easily gets into all nooks and corners thereby avoiding wastages.
2.
Chop them into rough pieces enough to amount to 1 cup.
3.
For peeling garlic, I usually lay a clove on my chopping board and give it a thump with the flat of my knife.
4.
Of course, your best bet would be to use store bought already peeled garlic to save you time and effort. But I find doing this is not that much of a chore if you do not care to retain the shape of the clove - like in this case.
5.
Give it a rough chop - enough to make 1 cup. Or refer my Tips section (above) for the Ginger Garlic Proportion.
6.
Before starting, have you read the OPOS® Manual Yet? Have you Standardised your pressure cooker? It is crucial to take that 5 minutes to make for a issue free experience with the pressure cooker. Done that already? OK -lets start. In a 2L pressure cooker, take 3 tbsp of water
7.
Next goes the oil
8.
Whisk it to create a slurry.
9.
Add in the ginger to one side of the cooker.
10.
The garlic goes on the other side.
11.
This is how it looks. Level it as much as possible.
12.
Cook on HIGH heat. By that I mean that the flame covers the entire bottom of your pressure cooker. If not, increase the flame. If you find that it is coming up the sides and causing burning of your handles, then reduce the flame.
13.
You will find that full pressure is built at around 2:30-3:00 minute mark. That is when the safety valve stops jiggling and protrude,
14.
after which the Whistles follow. We are looking for 3 Whistles, at around 5 minutes.Select whistles or timing - whichever is earlier. Be at its side to avoid any issues of burning, esp if you are new to OPOS.
15.
Once done, switch off the flame. Release pressure immediately to prevent water from condensing and falling into the ginger-garlic. Use a spatula to enable you to stay a little away and release the pressure/steam.
16.
This is how it looks when you open the pan.
17.
There is no burning, it is not sticking and there are some caramelised bits of ginger and garlic. Yum!
18.
You can use your stick blender to make them into a paste right in your pressure cooker itself to save you the hassle of cleaning multiple dishes. But for today's post, I am going to be transferring this into a processor.
19.
Blend this until smooth. Your ginger garlic paste is all ready.
Cool and refrigerate in an sterilised air tight container. Its lasts months and my current batch is just beginning its 2.5 month anniversary :) Once cool, store in an airtight container in the coldest part of your fridge. The top part of the paste might turn slightly brown at times. Don't hit the panic button yet. Its usually a harmless reaction with oxygen every time you open the jar. But if the color extends below the surface and/or starts smelling funky, then it is best transferred to your garbage! Better safe than sorry. Hence, to avoid such wastages, make sure to follow safety all measures while storing.
Filed Under these categories
Recipe Reference
Methodology from OPOS® Manual. Reference Video
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4 Comments
By Ancy on Sep 4, 2018
Can you please tel the total weight of ginger and garlic for making paste?
I think I used about 125 grams each - so total 250 grams of ginger and garlic. Hope this helps Ancy --DK
By food lover on Mar 1, 2018
Hi, Do I need to standardise my cooker every time I do the cooking? Thanks
(sorry I don't understand the whole idea of this standardization) :(
Not at all food lover. Just once before you begin with that cooker. If you are changing cookers, then I would suggest standardizing it again. Quickly explained - this standardization is recommended so that you and I are in the same page as far as cooking time goes. So, our cooking time should be very close to each other (with variables like ingredient quality included) and not off. That way, in case of issues, it will be easier to troubleshoot , thats about it. I will possibly do a better OPOS beginner lesson post soon if you think that will be easier.:) --DK
By Vinya on Jan 6, 2018
Hello :)
I love your website, presentation and very effective instructions. I am guilty of having visited many times and not leaving you a comment :). I just want you to know that your blog is amazingly useful to so many people and super inspiring as well :). Good luck to you and wishing you a yummy 2018 :)
Wow! Now that's an excellent beginning to 2018 for sure. Thank you Vinya :) --DK
By Bharti on Jan 30, 2019
Hi Bharti - I am surprised you had lots of water left. One quick question - when you standardized your cooker, did it give a good long whistle? A small whistle is generally not counted. Pls do refer this link if that is the case How to standardize your OPOS cooker. If you answered Yes with a long whistle, the only other explanation I can think is probably the quality of the ingredients. Next time around try to decrease the amount of water by a tbsp and give it a try. Watery paste would def not have a long shelf life in my opinion. Try to saute it in a open pan for this attempt and once dry store it in the fridge. Hope this helps --DK