Ginger and garlic paste
Equal parts ginger and garlic blitzed into a paste and frozen in cubes, so every curry starts in seconds.
Make this once, then cook it into 68 different dishes.
- Time20 mins
- LevelEasy
- Costabout £0.07 a head
- Makesabout 250 g, around 16 freezer cubes of 15 g
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Peel the ginger by scraping with a teaspoon. Chop it roughly. Peel the garlic cloves and remove any green shoots.
- 2
Put the ginger, garlic, water, lemon juice and salt in a small blender or food processor.
- 3
Blend for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until completely smooth. Add a splash more water if it will not blend.
- 4
Spoon into a clean silicone ice cube tray, about 1 tablespoon (15 g) per cube. You should get roughly 16 cubes.
- 5
Freeze for 3 hours until solid, then pop the cubes into a freezer bag and label. Keep any paste you plan to use in the next 3 days in a jar in the fridge.
180 min
About ginger and garlic paste
Ginger and garlic paste is an equal weight blend of fresh ginger and garlic, blitzed smooth with a little water and salt, that Indian cooks use at the start of almost every curry. It saves peeling, chopping and grating each time, and gives a more even flavour than chopped pieces.
Make a batch, freeze it in ice cube trays, and keep the cubes in a bag. One cube of about 15 g is roughly a teaspoon each of ginger and garlic. A frozen cube goes straight into hot oil or into a marinade.
Food safety matters with garlic. Raw garlic stored in oil at room temperature or for a long time in the fridge can allow harmful bacteria to grow, so this paste is made with water and a little lemon juice, kept cold, and frozen for anything beyond a few days. It is vegan and free from gluten, dairy, egg and nuts.
Tips
- Use equal weights of peeled ginger and peeled garlic. Scrape the ginger with a teaspoon rather than peeling it with a knife.
- Do not make it with oil. Keep it water based with a little lemon juice, and freeze it.
- Freeze in a silicone ice cube tray, then pop the cubes into a freezer bag so they do not stick together.
- If your paste is too thick to blend, add water 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Mature garlic with green shoots in the centre can taste bitter. Remove the shoot first.
Storing and freezing
Keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 3 days. For longer, freeze straight away in ice cube trays and store the cubes in a bag for 3 months. Never store ginger and garlic paste in oil at room temperature.
Dishes you can make with ginger and garlic paste
Lamb Bhuna with Tomatoes and Green Pepper
DFEFNFLamb Phall (The Hottest Curry House Curry)
GFEFNFLamb Kofta Curry in Onion and Tomato Gravy
DFEFNFLamb Handi (Pakistani Clay Pot Style Curry)
DFEFNFHyderabadi Lamb Dalcha (Lamb and Lentil Curry)
DFEFNFLamb Achari (Pickle Spiced Lamb Curry)
GFDFEFKheema Pav (Mumbai Spiced Lamb Mince with Buttered Rolls)
EFNFGoan Pork Ambot Tik (Sour and Hot Pork Curry)
DFEFNFPork Chop Masala (Tawa Style Spiced Pork Chops)
DFEFNFPork Dopiaza with Double Onions
GFDFEFBeef Jalfrezi with Peppers and Green Chillies
DFEFNFMachli Bhuna (Fish Bhuna)
DFEFNFQuestions
Why not store it in oil?
Garlic in oil can grow the bacterium that causes botulism when kept warm or for a long time. Using water and lemon juice and keeping it cold or frozen is the safer method.
How much paste equals one clove of garlic and a thumb of ginger?
About 15 g, one frozen cube, equals roughly 1 teaspoon each of chopped garlic and ginger. Use 1 to 2 cubes for a curry for 4 people.
Can I use it for marinades?
Yes. A cube or two stirred into yoghurt or lemon juice makes a quick flavour base for tikka, tandoori and kebab marinades.
Is it vegan and gluten free?
Yes. It is made from only ginger, garlic, water, lemon juice and salt, so it is vegan and free from gluten, dairy, egg and nuts.
Do I need to thaw the cubes?
No. Drop them straight into hot oil or a sauce. They thaw within seconds.
More base recipes
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.