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Curry – Just Leaves

NO….Curry leaves are not the leaves of the tree that can be used to make curry. They are a small wonder when it comes to flavor and a GREAT wonder when it is about medication.

By Kanika Goswami, 8/16/2004

Anyone familiar with South Indian cuisine in particular and South East Asian cuisine in general will remember those little pointy leaves floating in their gravy. The spicy, hot chicken, prawn and mutton dishes with little nigela and mustard seeds get their bitter aroma and aromatic antithesis from these little leaves.

Used almost throughout South East Asia, the curry leaf is known by a different name in very language of the region. While the Burmese call it Pindosin or Pyim daw thein, the French have a more musical Feuilles de Cari for it. The Indonesians call it Fogli di Cari while the ancient Sanskrit scholars referred to it as Hoja. As the aroma wafted westward, the Spaniards and the Englishmen also gave it names, so the humble leaf is called Bignay in Spanish and Curryblatter in German while the Dutch called it Kerriebladeren. Reaching northwards, the Danes termed it Karry blad. In India, where it forms on indispensable part of the central and south Indian cuisine, it is called kariapak, katneem or meethi neem (notice all the names refer to it as a sweet form of neem leaves from a medicinal tree).

The curry leaf plant (or tree if you wish), is a native of Tropical Asia, southern India and Sri Lanka. Belonging to the Rutaceae family, the Murraya Koenigi plant grows to a height between 2 and five meters, depending on various factors. The leaves are small, pointed and in clusters, giving of a strong aroma faintly reminding one of citrus and anise. The aroma is delightful when added to curries and while frying spices, and lends that extra something to south Indian dishes.

The plant is found almost across the length and breadth of the India and Sri Lanka which is perhaps why it is so much in use in the cuisine. Probably, their flavor traveled to the rest of the south Asian countries, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Myanmar with human migration from the Indian subcontinent, and then took up home in these new countries’ cuisine also. Today, they are found and used only in countries that have, historically, had Indian influences. But now with the migration of Indian cuisine to other cultures, their flavors are also finding special favor.

Curry leaves are very tender and best used fresh. They can be frozen and kept for future use also, but should not be removed from the stalk in that case, or will use their flavor. In cooking, it is best to use a fresh piece, fried in hot oil and ghee for the aroma. Contrary to popular belief, the curry leaf does not come from the curry plant, nor is it the secret behind the flavor of the curry powder. While some people may add it to their curry powder, it is largely a seasoning leaf, to be used only in specific curries to provide specific tanginess. Very rarely it is used ground along with other spices, more often than not, it is the first thing in the oil to be used to make the curry itself. Not surprisingly, the curry then acquires a personality of its own, aptly flavored by the little pointy leaf.

Apart from cooking, the curry leaf has a number of medicinal uses also. It is an essential ingredient of almost all traditional medicine systems of peninsular India, sometimes with amazingly good results. Unani, Ayurveda and other systems use it to cure ailments such as piles, to allay heat of the body and are useful in leucoderma and blood disorders, and this has been proven by experts of western medicine also. In India, the curry leaf is used to prevent conditions such as nausea and stomach upsets. It is also used in treating skin irritations and poisonous bites. Its oils are invaluable as repellants and to cure skin disorders common to the tropics.

Scientifically speaking, the curry leaf contains : 2.6% oil, beta-caryophyllene, beta-gurjenene, beta-elemene, beta-phellandrene, beta-thujene, alpha-selinene, beta-bisabolene, beta-transocimene and beta-cadinene.

There are many traditional remedies for everyday discomforts that utilize the goodness of the curry leaf, and here are some of them. To help in constipation, one can soak curry leaves in hot water for a few hours and drink the water with a spoonful of honey added to it. It eases the digestive tract and allows easier motion of stools. To cure nausea, brewing a curry leaf tea helps. And here’s a nugget, to cure nausea brought on by pregnancy, one can drink a mixture of 1 teaspoon curry leaves juice with 2 teaspoons lime juice and 1 teaspoon sugar every morning.

Those with a taste for drama and a strong stomach can chew on fresh curry leaves and count on it to relieve diarrhea.

As a skin medicine, curry leaves boiled in cow’s milk can be applied on a heat rash or a milk skin infection. It can also be ground into a paste with some turmeric and applied on acne infected skin for a few days. The result is a glowing, clear skin. Curry leaves boiled with coconut oil can be an effective hair colorant which causes minimum damage and maximum benefit to graying or thinning hair. South Indian women have, for centuries, mixed with the leaves of the China Rose and fenugreek, and applied as a paste to keep hair long, back and gleaming.

The myriad uses of the little pointy leaf make it a good idea to grow it in a small pot at home. All it needs is some watering during a dry spell and some sunshine during cold months. It can withstand a small amount of frost and needs moderate light and warmth to grow. A small pot with these aromatic leaves can be kept in a partially indoors area (like a verandah), to stave off insects etc too, as well as ensure a fresh aroma to the area.

http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-16-2004-57909.asp?viewPage=2

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