Home made Ginger-Garlic Paste/घर में बनाएं अदरक लहसुन का पेस्ट

Ginger-Garlic Paste

Ginger and garlic are the two spices which are very often required during vegetarian as well as non-vegetarian cooking. There are times that even a house wife finds it taxing to make fresh paste of ginger and garlic every time it is required for cooking. Working ladies and mothers with small children are always stretched for time. I was a working young mother staying in cantonment area, thus had to plan, preserve and economize while running of the house hold, for there used to be times when even simple thing like garlic or ginger would not be available. I used to purchase ginger and garlic in bulk, and make the paste in large quantity at home. That is when I realized that apart from being pure, unadulterated ginger-garlic paste it was proving to be very economical and certainly the taste imparted to the dish by this pate would be exactly like fresh paste. 32 years of my married life and I have yet to purchase marketed Ginger paste, Garlic paste or Ginger-Garlic paste.

I strongly recommend for all of you to atleast try it once to know the benefit of home made spices.

Preparation Time: 15 min.

Making Time: 10 min
Servings: 500 gm. Ginger-garlic Paste.

Ingredients Required For Making Ginger-Garlic Paste:

• 250 gm. Ginger

• 250 gm. Garlic
• 10 ml. Cooking oil (I use sunflower oil) 

• 100 ml. Vinegar (preferably fruit vinegar than synthetic vinegar)

Grape vinegar

Directions For Making Ginger-Garlic Paste:

• Wash ginger thoroughly to remove all soil and dirt attached to it.

• Dry the washed ginger with the help of a towel / cloth.

• Peel the washed and dried ginger 

Peeled Ginger

•  Cut / grate the peeled ginger.

Peeled and Cut Ginger

•  Peel garlic and wash the peeled garlic to make sure no soil or any other dirt is attached to peeled garlic cloves.

• Dry the peeled and washed garlic with the help of towel/cloth.

Peeled Garlic

• Cut peeled, washed, dried garlic to small pieces.

Peeled and Cut Garlic

•  Take the cut garlic and ginger in a mixer/grinder.

• Add 50 ml. of vinegar and grind to smooth paste.

• If required then add remainder of vinegar in small portion.

Ginger and Garlic made to paste in Grape Vinegar

• Add cooking oil and pulse for 30 sec. 
• Store this ginger-garlic paste in a glass bottle.

Ginger-Garlic Paste

•  Store it in the fridge for 3-4 months also and it will neither loose its flavor not go bad.

• If you are taking fruit vinegar then the paste may change color slightly, but not to worry it is the fruit in the vinegar causing the color change, flavor will not change.

• If stored outside , not in fridge then the paste will last for a month minimum, because vinegar acts as preservative.

Tips:

• Any oil with strong taste and flavor should be avoided because it will leave it's own taste and flavor in ginger-garlic paste. 
• Fruit vinegar not only acts as a preservative but also adds nutrition so preferably use fruit vinegar.

• Make sure ginger and garlic are clean and dried before you cut them.

• Do not add water while grinding, always use vinegar. If you do not want to use fruit vinegar then take synthetic white vinegar, but water never.

• Make sure the container in which you are storing the paste is clean and complete dry.

Suggested Variations:

•  Ginger-Garlic paste can be stored in airtight good quality plastic containers also.

Ginger-Garlic Paste in Airtight Container

• Ginger and garlic after cleaning and cutting can be ground separately to made ginger paste and garlic paste.

• You can change the ratio of ginger and garlic from 1:1 to the ratio of your choice and taste.

• White vinegar can be taken instead of fruit vinegar.

Mango Pickle ( North Indian style )

Mango Pickle

Mango pickle with chick peas

For all the different stages mango can be used for different purposes it is correctly called The King Of Fruits.

 It can be used in raw as well as ripe form to make many things like jam, cooling drink, pickles etc. Pickles are enjoyed with every meal all over India. In Southern part of Indie Pickle and rice along with Curd is and in Northern part of India apart from Dal Chawal pickles are taken with all sort of Parathas. The method of making mango pickle and its taste varies from one part of India to other part. The recipe of mango pickle I am writing today is at the request of my very good friend Janaki. She belongs to Andhra and loves North Indian pickle, like I love her typical Andhra pickle!

Preparation Time: 60min (for preparing spices mixture and cutting mango)

Servings: Makes 1.5Kg.  g. Pickle approximately

Ingredients Required for Making Mango Pickle:

• 1kg. Raw Mango

Raw Mangoes

• 100 g, Saunf (Fennel seeds)

Saunf (Fennel seeds)

• 50 gm. Methi (Fenugreek seeds)

Methi

• 25 gm. Kalonji (Nigella seed, they are Onion seeds)

Kalonji (Nigella seeds)

• 100gm Red chili Powder

Red chili powder

• 50gm. Red Kashmiri mirchi powder

Kashmiri mirchi powder

• 50gm. Turmeric Powder

• 1Tea spoon Asafoetida

• 150gm. Salt (or to taste)

• 500 ml. Mustard seed oil

Directions for Making the Pickle:

• Cut the part of mango where the stalk connects to the fruit.

• Wash the mangoes nicely and dry them by wiping with clean cloth.

• Keep the mangoes for 30 min. under the sun on a cloth piece / tray/plastic to make sure that all outside moisture is removed.

• Cut the mangoes to the required size.

Mango pieces

• Remove the seeds.

• Take the mango pieces, 50gm. salt and turmeric powder in a steel or glass bowl and mix them thoroughly.

Mango pieces being marinated with salt and turmeric powder

• Cover with a plate and keep under sun for 5-6 hr. for marination.

• Some liquid will separate out during marination of mango pieces.

• Remove the mango pieces from the liquid and keep in a dry bowl / plate.

Marinated mango pieces

• While the mango pieces are getting marinated in salt and turmeric under the sun take 50gm. of Saunf and roast them to pinkish brown color.

Roasted Saunf (Fennel seeds

• Take 25gm. Methi seeds and roast them to pinkish color.

Roasted Methi (Fenugreek) seeds

• Roast whole of Kalonji on low flame.

• Mix the roasted and remaining (50gm. saunf and 25 gm. methi seeds) unroasted seeds and grind them to coarse powder.

Coarsely ground mixture of Fennel  (saunf)seeds and fenugreek  (methi)seeds

• Add kalonji to this powder of roasted seeds.

Kalonji added to the coarsely ground mixture of Methi and saunf seeds

• To the liquid separated from marinated mango pieces add all the powder of spices.

• Add salt, 10 gm red chili powder to the mixture and approximately 100 ml. oil and mix nicely to make homogenous paste.

Red chili powder, salt and oil added to the spices in liquid from marination of  mango pieces

Spices mixed in the liquid from marination of mango pieces

• Mix the paste of spices and marinated mango pieces nicely so as to coat all mango pieces with the spices paste.

Spices mixed with marinated mango pieces

• Cover the container in which the mango and spices mixture is, with a neat cloth piece and keep under sun for 2-3 days.

• In a wok take remaining 400ml. Mustard seed oil and heat it on high flame till it is smoking hot.

Oil in wok being heated for pickle

• Remove the wok from heat and allow it to cool for 5-10min.

• Add 1 tea spoon of saunf, red chili powder, Kashmiri mirchi powder and asafoetida and stir.

• The chili powder will get cooked in oil leaving color, taste and flavor to the oil.

Chili powder and hing cooking in oil

Oil and chili powder mixture ready to be added to the mango pieces

• Add this hot oil and chili powder mixture to the mango and spices mixture.

• Mix the contents thoroughly.

• Pickle is ready to be bottled.

Mango pickle ready for bottling

• Bottle the pickle in a glass bottle and cover it with a clean cloth piece.

• Tie the cloth piece tightly and keep it under the sun for 10-15 days.

Mango Pickle

• Pickle takes30 days minimum to mature.

Tips:

• The mango for pickle should have hard kernel otherwise the pickle will not last long.

Mango with hard kernel which should be taken for pickling

• All utensils used should be dry.

• Red chili powder should not be added to smoking hot oil, otherwise if will get burnt leaving bad taste and black color to the pickle.

• Don't use plastic bottle for the pickle as it has certain chemicals which will go into the pickle and  are harmful. 
• Do not change mustard oil with any other oil because the real taste of this pickle comes when made in mustard oil. 
• If you are getting the mangoes cut from market then after they are cut wash them first with water white vinegar mixture ( 1:10 ratio of vinegar and water) and then dry under the sun.

Suggested Variations:

• Few cloves of garlic can be added it not only changes the flavor but also acts as preservative.

• Wipe the chick peas with a clean cloth and add it to the prepared pickle before bottling, 

Mango pickle with chick pea

•  After 20-30 days the chick peas will swell up and will have all flavor of spices and sourness of raw mango.

• For one Kilo of mango 50 ml. white vinegar can be added to the pickle before bottling to increase the life of pickle.

• Whole red chilies can be added to the hot oil before adding chili powder these.