How can onion garlic paste simplify your cooking? How to use ready made paste in food preparation and how much?
(May 26, 2010)
Onion and garlic have very strong, distinctive taste, flavor, and fragrance. Both these ingredients have the amazing ability of enhancing your cooking to a very large extend. They work equally well when combined together in a dish or when used separately or individually in different dishes. Onion paste is usually used to provide thick, gravy like consistency to a dish. So, if you want a dish that has gravy in it, using onion paste would be a good idea.
There are two types of onion pastes that you can use, if you are using fresh onion paste, that is. One would be a paste that you would have to make by grinding the raw onions, after peeling off their skin. You can then use this paste as one of the ingredients to sauté your dish. The other onion paste involves an elaborate process. Finely slice the onions into half-rings. Deep fry these onion rings in oil till they turn crispy and golden brown in color. After draining them out of the oil, grind these golden brown onions into a fine paste. You can then use this paste to enhance the taste of some of your dishes. After frying the onions to this level, the taste of the onion changes automatically. This particular taste will not go well with all the dishes. You will have to be very selective about which dish you add this paste too. Also, please keep in mind that as it is deep fried, the paste is also very heavy, rich, and filling. The dish that you will add this paste too will also need to be the same. Garlic paste, on the other hand has only one version. Again, garlic paste does not go well with all the dishes. Flavors of certain ingredients are enhanced when garlic is added to them. Also, not everyone loves the taste and smell of garlic.
As for ready made paste, it would be highly advisable to avoid using ready made pastes as they contain preservatives, which are required to ensure that the pastes do not get spoiled. But these preservatives change the basic taste of both the garlic and the onion. This, in turn, will affect the overall taste of your dish. You have to use a ready made paste in the same manner as you would use freshly made paste – there is no difference in the way they are used in cooking. As for how much to use, that would depend on individual preference and liking for these particular flavors.
