Traditions with curry leaf

Curry leaf, the aromatic leaf of a small tree of South Asia, has nothing to do with curry powder but is a basic flavour of South Indian, Sri Lankan and some Southeast Asian cooking. Fried in hot oil with mustard seeds at the start of a dish, it releases a sweet, citrus-like fragrance. A curry leaf plant in the courtyard is a sign of a home in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. These pages describe where it is used and what it means.

Where it is used

In Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra and Kerala, curry leaf is used in sambar, rasam, chutneys, fish curries and rice dishes. In Sri Lanka, it flavours the curries and the sambol. In Malaysia and Singapore, Indian communities use it, and so do Malay cooks in rendang. The leaves are bought fresh in bunches at markets and kept in the freezer by those who live far away. It reached the Caribbean with indentured workers, and South Africa's Durban curries use it.

What it means

A tree in the garden and a handful for the neighbour are part of South Indian life, and a family will say that to ask for curry leaves is not a favour but a custom. Its use in tempering is the first sound of a South Indian kitchen, and its fragrance, a sign that food is coming. Many people living abroad grow a plant in a pot on a windowsill.