Ground ginger

Flavour and aroma

hot, warm, lemony, slightly sweet. Warm, peppery, slightly sweet.

Heat

Mild

Forms

ground

How to use it

• infuse · Simmering technique

  In Kashmiri curries, add with ground fennel to the simmering liquid (often yogurt) and cook for at least 10 minutes.

• use raw

  Stir into sonth chutney, chai masala and sweets; it needs no frying.

• Gingerbread, ginger biscuits and cakes
• Tandoori and other masala blends
• Kashmiri curries (sonth)
• Rubs and marinades
• Spiced drinks

Identifying good quality

Pale beige to light brown powder with a sharp, warm smell. Whole dried ginger is wrinkled, hard and pale (limed) or brown (unbleached).

• Not to be confused with Fresh ginger: Fresh ginger is juicier and greener in flavour; dried is hotter and more lemony.

Origin and history

Origin: Maritime South-East Asia; ginger is known only in cultivation.. Grown and used: India is the largest producer of ginger; dried ginger is made mainly in Kerala. Also China, Nigeria and Indonesia..

Dried ginger (sonth, chukku) was a major export of the Malabar Coast. It is central to Kashmiri Pandit cooking, where it is paired with ground fennel, and to sonth chutney, chukku kaapi and some masala chai blends.

Well documented

In masalas, pastes and sauces

• Chaat masalaMasala2 g per batch
• Tandoori masalaMasala4 g per batch
• Chole masalaMasala3 g per batch
• Madras curry powderMasala3 g per batch
• Everyday curry powder (British-style)Masala5 g per batch
• Berbere spice blendMasala4 g per batch
• Ras el hanoutMasala8 g per batch
• Baharat (Lebanese seven spice)Masala3 g per batch
• Shichimi togarashiMasala1 g per batch
• Saunth (sweet tamarind-date chutney)Sauce1.9 g per batch
• Aloo bukhara chutney (sweet-sour plum chutney)Sauce1.5 g per batch
• PiccalilliSauce3 g per batch
• Cumberland sauceSauce1 g per batch
• Homemade brown sauceSauce1.9 g per batch