Are curry leaves just the leaves from a chilli plant? I grow my own chillis and habeneros etc. Because I leave in a fairly cool part of Australia they slow down and become dormant in winter (like a rose bush basically). I prune back my plants and throw the leaves etc in the compost. Are these leaves curry leaves? I buy my curry leaves at the moment, they are dried and look almost the same shape.

Cheers

Steve

No, curry leaves are the leaves of a tree; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Tree . They are called 'meetha neem' in Hindi, meetha being sweet and neem is name of another medicinal tree with very bitter leaves http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neem . The curry leaf tree has sweet leaves and it has medicinal properties also, but less than bitter Neem tree.

I have managed to grow it from it's seeds upto a foot long here in UK, but then it dies. It is a tropical tree.

Mamta

Well! there you go thanks Mamta

Steve

Hi Steve, I am from Australia but living in India at the moment. You should be able to buy fresh curry leaves from Woolworths in their herb section. You say you live in a cooler climate so if Melb you may find it at Woolies but if in Tasmania for example, you may struggle. Also, each Aust city has a few Indian shops which sells all things Indian funnily enough so you may have better luck there. Tell me where you are and I may be able to point you in the right direction.

Shalini

Thanks Shalini

Im in Canberra (brrrr). Ive never seed fresh leaves in woolies etc. They only seem to have dried. I buy my dried curry leaves (and everything else)from my favourite little indian shop. Next time im in I will ask them if they have fresh. Thanks!

Steve

Ah, ok Steve. If you have an Indian shop that you use do ask them, it's probably in the fridge. I am from Sydney and I know that Woolies sells it at our local shop and all around in fact. It's in a clear box like the alfalfa sprouts, near where they keep things like kaffir lime leaves, lemon grass. It's on their homeshop website as well!!

If you drive up to Sydney, you can drive up through the suburb of Liverpool which has a lot of Indian shops and you may find it interesting to look through there. There is a lot of variation in the shops, not sure if you have realised but depending on whether it is a Fiji Indian shop, an North Indian, a South Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi they stock different things. I like to look in them all!!

Just out of curiosity, have you ever tried Rama's Fiji-Indian restaurant at Corner McFarland & Hodgson Crescents, Pearce Shopping Centre, Canberra, ACT, 2607? The food is supposed to be good and cheap. Try the Fijian dishes and stay away from the kormas and vindaloos. Just to see what you think - I have never been but have heard rave reviews. reviews on the net as well if you are interested.

Hope you are enjoying Aust and not missing real British food - curry - too much!!

Shalini

Hi SteveAus

I used to live in your neck of the woods and grew my own curry leaf tree. They used to be quite pricey to buy but not any longer.

I initally keep it in a pot in a sheltered part of the garden unitl it grows about 50% then put it in the ground. They are quite hardy and grow really well with minimal water, fertilizer and fuss. I have lived in varying parts of Oz over the years and in every garden a curry leaf plant has been grown. Nothing better then picking fresh:)

Ciao

I couldn't agree more. If you have the right climate for it, go for it! I wish we could grow it outside here!

I live in India and plant a tree every time we move to a new place. They are easily available from plant nurseries. If you know someone who has a tree, you can ask them to give you a few 'seeds'. Many new seedlings self germinate under established trees from fallen seeds. They make useful gifts.

the viability (ability to sprout) of the curry leaf plant is about a couple of weeks, generally, so if importing into the UK or other land from India, most seeds will not sprout. Also, in the UK, there are many plants called 'curry plant', make sure you are using the correct one (I know of at least one person who bought the wrong one, and ate it, no worries, he survived, but he complained of poor flavour!!!)

This is the plant/tree you are looking for; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_Tree

Here in India we call it Meetha Neem or Sweet Neem, because its leaves are not bitter like the common Neem. We get a few 'seed-stones' from friends who have the tree. During rainy season, small saplings spring up underneath established trees. Most people will give them away happily.

Chitra

Can they survive frosts? We regularly get 0 to -5ish overnight here in Canberra during winter?

Shalini - yes I have been to Ramas in Pearce. Quite a while ago and it was very nice....but I will stick to my kormas and vindaloos :o) My favourite restaurant is the Tandoor in Belconnen because of their chicken vindaloos. But now that I can successfully make my own we rarely go now-a-days.

Cheers

Steve

P.s. Shalini - no I dont miss England at all. Been back once since 1992 and that was enough

Hi Steve

Curry-leaf Tree/Curry Tree/Murraya koenigii is an easy tree to grow in India. In northern India, where my mum lives, it grows abundantly, even though the temperatrure gets to around and sometimes below freezing in winters, down to 2?C sometimes and it manages to survive that. My suggestion will be to grow it in a pot and perhaps cover it with fleece or bring it in during really cold season.

I am still trying to grow it here. I have had success here in southern England once, growing it in a pot. I left it with someone to look after it while away on a long?ish holiday. They loved it so much that I didn't have the heart to ask back for it! It is growing well in a pot in their house and has even flowered and produced a few fruits. So, if you can get hold of the small, stone like seeds from it?s fruit, or a small plant, give it a try. It will be a while before it will give you enough leaves to use in cooking!

Mamta