Curry leaves are the glossy, aromatic leaves of a small tree in the citrus family, fried in oil to flavour South Indian, Sri Lankan and Malaysian dishes. They are unrelated to curry powder.
What it is¶
Curry leaves come from a small tropical tree in the citrus family, native to the Indian subcontinent. They grow in feathery sprays of 10–20 small, glossy, pointed leaflets and are sold on the stem. Their names include kari patta (Hindi), karuveppilai (Tamil), kariveppila (Malayalam) and karapincha (Sinhala).
The name causes endless confusion. Curry leaves are not an ingredient of curry powder, though some commercial blends do include them, and they do not taste of curry powder. The English "curry" comes from the Tamil kari, a word for a spiced sauce or relish, and the leaf takes its name from the same root.
Nor are they the "curry plant" sold in British garden centres, which is Helichrysum italicum, a silver-leaved Mediterranean shrub that smells of curry powder but is not a culinary substitute.
Origins and history¶
The curry leaf tree grows wild in the forests of India and Sri Lanka, and its leaves have been used in the cooking of southern India for many centuries. They remain far more important in the south and west of India than in the north: in the cooking of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, and in sri lankan cuisine, they are close to indispensable.
South Asian migration carried the tree to Malaysia, Singapore, Fiji, South Africa and East Africa, where curry leaves now appear in local dishes such as Malaysian and Singaporean butter prawns and Durban curries. The EU and UK restrict imports of curry leaf plants, because Murraya species can host insect pests and diseases of citrus.
Flavour and aroma¶
Raw curry leaves smell green, citrusy and faintly of anise and resin. The magic happens when they hit hot fat: they crackle, turn a deeper green and release a toasted, nutty, savoury aroma, often compared to a mixture of lemon zest, toasted sesame and roasted cashew, with a hint of asafoetida-like sulphur. There is no single comparison that captures it.
Dried leaves keep only a faint version of the aroma. Fresh or frozen leaves are far better.
In the kitchen¶
The most important technique is tempering (tadka, thalipu or chaunk): frying whole spices and curry leaves in hot oil or ghee, then pouring the lot over a dish or using it as the base. See tempering spices.
A basic South Indian tempering. Heat 2 tbsp oil or ghee until shimmering. Add 1 tsp black mustard seeds and let them pop. Add a pinch of asafoetida, a dried red chilli and 12–15 curry leaves (one generous sprig), stripped from the stem. Stand back: the wet leaves spit violently. Fry for 10–20 seconds until they crackle and go glossy, then tip over dal, a vegetable dish, yoghurt or rice.
- Dals and sambar. Almost every South Indian lentil dish, including sambar made with sambar powder and the thin, peppery rasam, is finished with a curry-leaf tempering.
- Coconut curries. Kerala fish curries, Sri Lankan curries and many Tamil vegetable dishes start with curry leaves in the oil.
- Snacks and breakfasts. Upma, poha, lemon rice, coconut chutney and Gujarati kadhi all rely on them.
- Fried. Deep-fried curry leaves, crisp in seconds, make a garnish for fish, eggs or roast potatoes.
- Ground. Dried and toasted leaves can be ground into a podi (dry chutney powder) with lentils and chilli.
💡 Whole leaves are edible
Curry leaves are left in the finished dish. Some diners push them aside, but fried leaves are perfectly edible and tender. For a more distributed flavour, shred them finely before frying.
Buying and storing¶
Buy fresh curry leaves from South Asian grocers, where they are usually cheap and sold in large bags. Choose bright, glossy, unblemished leaves.
Kept in a sealed bag or box in the fridge they last about one to two weeks. For longer storage, freeze them: strip or leave on the stem, dry thoroughly, and freeze flat in a bag. Frozen leaves can go straight into hot oil and keep much of their aroma for several months. Dried leaves are a poor second; use two or three times as many. See freezing herbs.
Substitutes¶
There is no true substitute; if you have none, it is usually better to leave them out than to force an alternative. For a citrus-savoury note, a makrut lime leaf or a bay leaf with a strip of lime zest can help. A little extra toasted mustard seed and asafoetida in the tempering compensates somewhat for the missing savouriness.
Pairs well with¶
Mustard seed, asafoetida, dried red chillies, cumin, urad and chana dal, turmeric, fenugreek, coconut, tamarind, lentils, rice, yoghurt, fish and prawns, potatoes, cauliflower.
Growing your own¶
The curry leaf tree is tropical and not hardy; in Britain it must be grown as a houseplant or conservatory plant. It is slow and can be sulky, but a healthy plant will supply leaves for years.
- Starting. Buy a young plant from a specialist nursery or South Asian grocer. Seed is possible but must be very fresh.
- Conditions. A bright, warm spot out of cold draughts, ideally above 15°C and never below about 10°C. It can go outdoors in a sheltered, sunny place in high summer.
- Watering and feeding. Keep the compost moist but never waterlogged in summer, and feed every few weeks with a balanced or citrus fertiliser. Water sparingly in winter, when it may drop leaves.
- Harvesting. Pinch out stems to encourage bushiness; take no more than a third of the leaves at a time.
The small black berries are eaten in parts of India but the seeds are generally not eaten. See growing herbs indoors.