Curry Leaf – Murraya Koenigii

The curry leaf plant is a subtropical, evergreen shrub with leaves that look like tiny palm fronds. This plant is completely different from the curry plant, Helichrysum italicum, a Mediterranean herb with tiny, silver looking leaves. While the curry leaf tree does have berries (berries are edible, seeds are poisonous), it is grown for its flavorful leaves.

Curry leaf is an important part of Indian cuisine, but don’t confuse this plant with the curry powder spice mixture, which is a combination of different dried ground herbs and spices. Curry leaf (the fresh spice) is added to foods during cooking as they are, in their fresh form, typically at the beginning of cooking.

Growing Curry Leaf

This plant likes a moist and well-drained soil, and full sun. If growing from seed, use ripe and fresh fruit (not dried). Start them indoors in the late winter and transplant in the spring after all danger of frost is gone. Keep the soil moist, but if in containers, avoid keeping them waterlogged. Curry leaf plants are great candidates for stem cutting propagation.

Cooking with Curry Leaf

Curry leaf should always be used fresh; they lose their flavor once dried. Once picked, use within a day as they do not store well in the refrigerator. Curry leaves can also be deep fried and served crispy.

References:

Katzer, Gernot. “Curry Leaves (Murraya Koenigii Spreng.).” Spice Pages: Curry Leaves (Murraya/Chalcas Koenigii). Gernot-katzer-spice-pages.com, 22 May 2012. Web. 30 May 2014.

“Curry Tree.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 30 May 2014. Web. 30 May 2014.