India, June 23 -- Let's get one thing straight, there's nothing wrong per se with using store-bought ginger-garlic paste. If buying the readymade paste means you save a good 15 to 20 minutes of toil-time in the kitchen per meal - it's definitely a steal!

But you can never be careful enough. Buying anything pre-packaged comes with the undeniable knowledge that you will be ingesting preservatives, additives and chemicals of various kinds. But for something as widely and regularly used as ginger-garlic paste, it can't hurt to know what exactly you're putting in your food and your system. Citric acid, xanthan gum and synthetic food colours are the common culprits in this regard serving purposes such as keeping that 'fresh' aroma intact, ensu...