1,000 Indian Recipes (60 page)

Pissa Adrak

Makes about 2 cups

Many Indians do not eat any garlic (or onions, for that matter), relying primarily upon ginger, fresh herbs, and spices to flavor their foods. Added to dishes in all forms, shapes, and sizes, each addition of ginger lends a delicate, citrus-like flavor, and it is believed to have countless health benefits.

Select young and juicy rhizomes with shiny skin. Peel the skin and cut the ginger across the grain into thin, quarter-size slices before you purée it. This way, you will be cutting all the fibers into bits, ensuring a smooth paste.

1 pound fresh ginger, peeled and cut crosswise into thin round slices

1 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed

1.
Put the ginger slices in a blender (not a food processor, or the paste will not be smooth) and process, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time, using only the minimum amount necessary to make a smooth paste. (If the ginger is juicy, you will need less water.)

2.
Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 5 days or freeze pre-measured quantities (because it is almost impossible to break off small bits from frozen ginger without thawing all of it) about 3 months. Pre-measured portions can go straight from the freezer into the pan. Another way to freeze is to place the paste in a small zip-closure bag, remove excess air, seal the bag, and press on it lightly to spread the paste into a thin layer. When frozen, pieces can then simply be snapped off.

Basic Garlic Paste

Pissa Lussan

Makes about 1 cup

Although it is acceptable to use oil- or water-packed bottled minced garlic that is available in supermarkets all over America (though I personally do not care for it), nothing can replace the true flavor (and the nutritional benefits) of fresh garlic. It is true that peeling fresh garlic cloves can be a chore, but these days even the peeled ones are readily available. Buy yours at the local farmers' markets, where you can guarantee freshness.

1
¹
⁄
₂
cups fresh garlic cloves, peeled

2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed

1.
Put the garlic in a blender (not a food processor, or the paste will not be smooth) and process, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time, using only the minimum amount necessary to make a smooth paste.

2.
Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 15 days. Because garlic paste is pungent, be sure to seal it very tightly with plastic wrap under the lid. This will ensure that the rest of your refrigerator doesn't smell garlicky. You can also freeze pre-measured quantities (because this paste freezes as one big block that is almost impossible to break without thawing) about 3 months. Pre-measured portions can go straight from the freezer to the pan. Another way to freeze is to place the paste in a small zip-closure bag, remove excess air, seal the bag, and press on it lightly to spread the paste into a thin layer. When frozen, pieces can then simply be snapped off.

Roasted Garlic Paste

Pissa Bhuna Lussan

Makes about 1 cup

This is not a true Indian basic, but it lends itself well to our cuisine. When a recipe calls for flame-roasting whole heads of garlic, I turn to this method—it's a lot less messy. You can do this for any quantity of garlic cloves.

1
¹
⁄
₂
cups fresh garlic cloves, peeled

Preheat oven 400°F. Place the garlic cloves in a small pie dish or any other baking pan and roast until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then process in a blender or coarsely mash with a fork. Or just put the roasted cloves in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 1 month or freeze up to 6 months. With no water added, puréed roasted garlic is easy to separate even when it is frozen.

Basic Ginger-Garlic Paste

Pissa Adrak-Lussan

Makes about 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups

Used universally in India and ground fresh every time the need arises (which is 2 to 3 times on an average day), this paste is almost the first task of the morning cooking ritual. Once made, it gets added to breakfast breads and to whatever else is the savory call of the morning. In America, I find that making it in bulk at one time and having it available to me makes cooking easier. When making this paste, there's one thing I do that is out of the norm—I mix in some oil. The purists may not agree, but I find that it increases the refrigerator life of the paste and, more importantly, the paste does not darken but retains its original color.

A word of caution: Cut the ginger crosswise, across the grain, into thin slices, or you'll get long fibers in the paste. Also, make sure the storage containers you use are really airtight, so your whole refrigerator doesn't smell of garlic.

1 cup quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger

1 cup fresh garlic cloves, peeled

1 to 3 tablespoons water

In a food processor or a blender, process together the ginger and garlic to make a smooth paste, adding the water as needed for blending. Transfer to an airtight container, mix in some oil (vegetable, peanut, or olive) until it forms a
¹
⁄
₈
-inch layer on top of the paste, and refrigerate up to 15 days or freeze up to 6 months.

Hyderabadi Ginger-Garlic Paste

Hyderabad ka Pissa Adrak-Lussan

Makes about 1
¹
⁄
₂
cups

From my friend Yasmin AliKhan's Hyderabadi kitchen comes this fragrant variation of the basic ginger-garlic paste, with three times more ginger than garlic. This is a well-guarded secret that gives the southeastern Muslim-style Hyderabadi cuisine its characteristic flavors and silky smooth sauces.

³
⁄
₄
pound fresh ginger, peeled and cut crosswise into thin round slices

¹
⁄
₄
pound fresh garlic cloves, peeled

1 to 3 tablespoons water

In a blender (not a food processor), blend together the ginger and garlic until smooth, adding the water as needed for blending. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 10 days or freeze up to 6 months.

Basic Ginger and Green Chile Pepper Paste

Pissi hui Adrak-Hari Mirch ka Masala

Makes about 1 cup

For the people who don't eat garlic or onions (because they are associated with the base desires of life), this paste is their flavoring basic—along with an array of spices, of course.

6 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and cut crosswise into thin round slices

10 to 15 fresh green chile peppers, such as serranos, coarsely chopped

In a food processor or blender, process together the ginger and chile peppers to make them as smooth as possible. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 10 days or freeze up to 4 months.

Gujarati Green Paste