Curry leaves are indispensable in South & Southwestern Indian and Sri Lankan cooking. Whenever my family has moved to a new country, one of my first adventures has been the “great curry leaf hunt”. Hardly any Sri Lankan dish I cook is without curry leaves. My best advice to a newbie is befriend an Indian lady. It is most likely she has already found a curry leaf source or even has a tree planted in her garden/balcony. If you do get your hands on a plant but do not have a place to plant it (and this was the strategy I used), give it to a friend who has a garden, and very soon you will have an abundant supply! Our condominium does not allow plants on the balcony, which has been the reason I have not been able to have my own plant. However, risking fines and penalties, I am now attempting to grow a plant… shh!

So, what are curry leaves? Native to India and the Indian subcontinent, the curry leaf tree (curry tree or curry bush) is a rather prolific, small, tropical tree. The leaves are pinnate, which is a type of compound leaf. Getting into a bit of botanical terminology here, a compound leaf is not a single leaf as you would see in an oak tree or mango tree. A single leaf is made up of (or divided into) several leaflets. When you look at a curry leaf, you may actually be looking at a leaflet. This can be confusing when it comes to recipes. If the author is precise, then he/she will specify wording like “sprig” of curry leaf; this would mean 1 leaf. However, if the recipe calls for 10 curry leaves, then it is likely the author means 10 leaflets. For some bonus botanical information, pinnate compound leaves can be odd or even. The curry leaf is odd pinnate, which means there will be always an odd number of leaflets on a single leaf (sprig) and usually this number varies from 11-21.

Use in Cooking. Out of the Indian subcontinent, curry leaves are found used in several SE Asian cuisines as well, Indonesian, Malay, Cambodian, Javanese, to name a few. Although the aroma of the curry leaf has been compared to citrus, anise, lemongrass, etc, it really cannot be likened to anything else. Curry leaves have their own distinct aroma, and one must sample it for oneself to really appreciate it. Curry leaves are added to food not simply for their pleasant aroma, they are known to be invaluable in their medicinal properties as well. It is widely used in Ayurvedic and other traditional medicines of the East.

Some medicinal benefits attributed to curry leaf:

• High antioxidant properties.
• Controls bad cholesterol and contributes to reducing risk of heart disease.
• Neuroprotective properties.
• Anti-cancer effects.
• Controls diabetes.
• Pain relieving properties.
• Anti-inflammatory effects
• Antibacterial properties.