CURRY LEAF
There’s nothing like the aroma of fresh curry leaf: sweet, green and an immediate sensory ride back to India’s south. I love to use curry leaf alongside classic regional South Indian spicing: aromatics like mustard seeds, fresh garlic, tamarind, and coconut-based fats - cream, milk or oil.
But curry leaf also has the ability to make an impact in non-traditional dishes. When it comes to the choice between fresh and dried curry leaf, I will take fresh every time: dried curry leaf has a much less rich and interesting expression.
Curry leaf belongs to the forest floor category of spices. Learn a little bit more of how to use curry leaf and in what quantity by reading the tips below.
CURRY LEAF:
Fresh curry leaf fried off with spice in traditional recipes from India’s southern regions will draw forward the sweet and nutty characters of its companion spices in the pan. It works beautifully with all proteins but its delicate “green” quality plays particularly well with shellfish and white-fleshed fish.
There is an aromatic crossover with basil and curry leaf - that slightly spicy and “purple” quality I talk about in the video. I use curry leaf in Mediterranean dishes that commonly include fresh basil. The curry leaf for basil replacement adds a sweeter, and slightly more exotic end note. Try it with eggplant moussaka.
Use curry leaf with mussels in a tomato, white wine and chilli sauce - strip a branch or two of curry leaf and stir the leaves through at the end.
As a forest floor category spice curry leaf is responsible for creating movement across the upper mid palate. This movement helps to shift the density of dark, heavy and hot spicing. Use it to lighten an aromatically heavy dish - adding fried curry leaf to top gnocchi is an example of the ability of this spice to alleviate density.
A little bit of heat and oil is all it takes to release the aroma of curry leaf. This is a delicate spice, so long cooking times aren’t required. Curry leaf can be added right toward the end of the cooking process.
Fresh curry leaf quantities are more generous than many other dried spices. Use a frond or two in a dish that feeds four to six people. For dried curry leaf use more restraint with quantities - the drying process of any spice emphasis bitterness and darker pungent qualities.