Curry Leaves
Curry leaves are an essential component of South Indian cuisine and they can be used to flavor a wide array of dishes. We love their delicious fragrance and taste, but fresh curry leaves can be hard to find outside of a well-stocked Indian grocery store. We grow these subtropical trees (Murraya koenigii) so we can use their leaves in our cooking as often as we want and have them available for our community.
Cooking with Curry Leaves
Use curry leaves like bay leaves and add them whole when cooking lentils, soups, stews, and rice dishes. Or finely chop them first and simmer them with onions and spices like mustard seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, garlic, and ginger for a more intense aroma.
Note that curry leaves are not the same as curry powder. Curry powder is a blend of various spices and does not include curry leaves at all. Curry leaves add their own distinct flavor for which there is no other substitute. Curry leaves and curry powder are often used together in traditional South Indian curries, but curry leaves make a great stand-alone herb that can be incorporated in so many things.
Curry Leaf Recipes
Here are some recipes and ideas for using curry leaves when cooking:
https://www.npr.org/2011/09/28/140735689/fresh-curry-leaves-add-a-touch-of-india
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/curry-leaf-will-change-the-way-you-cook-indian-food/
https://ministryofcurry.com/curry-leaves-meet-indias-wonder-herb/
https://food52.com/blog/9821-curry-leaves-and-your-favorite-ways-to-use-them