Ginger

Indian Name

Adrakh

Notes

Ginger is a must for cooking Indian-style. Ginger can be used in main courses. In fact, it is possible to make entire dishes with merely lots of ginger, salt and some very rudimentary spices. Ginger is used frequently in non-Indian desserts, such as pies. Ginger tea is very popular.

Quantity

There is no typical quantity to use when it comes to ginger. Raw ginger is much stronger in flavour than ginger heated in oil. Use about a finger of ginger in a two-person main course. Excess ginger in any dish is rarely a problem.

Preparation

Fresh ginger is much more preferable to powdered ginger. Skin the ginger and pound it into a paste with a dash of salt. The paste may be added directly to oil or later to the vegetables or meat for more flavour. For slightly reduced flavour, chop ginger into tiny pieces.

Caution

Sometimes, ginger is used unskinned. If doing so, ensure that the skin does not have any fungus on it.

Alternative

Ginger powder

Miscellaneous

Ginger-flavoured beers have been around for some time. Ginger keeps for quite a while, so it is perfectly all right to buy twice as much more than planned for a dish.