, a column where we talk you through the process of making the dishes and drinks we can make with our eyes closed. âPeople ask me, How do I replicate the depth of flavor of really good Indian food at home?â says chef and restaurateur Meherwan Irani, whose growing empire includes six restaurant locations and a spice company across Atlanta, Asheville, and Charlotte. âAnd the number one thing I tell them is to make a ginger-garlic paste and fry it in oil until you get this beautiful caramelization.â Ginger and garlic are found together so often in South Asian dishes that many cooks keep a jar of homemade ginger-garlic paste in their fridge, both to save themselves the step of peeling and mashing ginger and garlic every time they go to cook and to incorporate flavor more smoothly and evenly. âIf I cook just with ginger, I always end up with little fibrous bits of ginger in the food, and you have to be really careful with how you use [chopped or sliced] garlic since it burns so quickly,â Irani says. âThis paste is the perfect marriage of both. It has its own taste and smell, but itâs just ginger and garlic.â