Mamta's Kitchen - A Family Cookbook
Curry Leaves
I have used curry leaves a few times but tbh there is no taste or flavour from them as far as I am concerned. I used them immediately after buying them but maybe didn'y buy a good brand? Are they supposed to have a strong taste?
They have quite a strong aroma when cooked. There is no brand, you should get them fresh from the Indian grocers. Dry ones are no good. You can wash them, leave overnight on a towel to dry and then freeze in a sandwich bag. this way, they will last a long time.
Mamta
you have to fry curry leaves for a few seconds in hot oil before they release their flavour. You can't for example just throw them into a stew. they must be gently fried first.
Hello
Thanks for the tip of frying the curry leaves first. I ususally just throw them in.
ciao
JL
You should first crush a bunch of curry leaves in the palm of your hand by forming a tight fist and then throw them into your dish and boil. The tip is that the leaves should be nicely crushed to get a good flavor.You should use atleat 10 to 12 leaves for a good flavor. I use them in most of my dishes.
I noticed that curry leaves were used in some of the dishes I had at a restaurant serving more south than north Indian food. (I hadn't seen these leaves in dishes I had had at the Indian restaurants serving north Indian food.)
The taste was very pleasant. At a nearby grocery store, there were curry leaves being sold, but I saw myself watching them go to waste as I researched the topic further. I was told by one of the store reps that even they sometimes use curry leaf powder, which I was told is a decent substitute, and given my experimentation stage, I bought a small box of the powder made by Priya. The ingredients consist of: curry leaves powder, tamarind, refined rice bran oil, coriander powder, garlic, bengalgram dhal, salt, chili powder, blackgram dhal, cumin owder, and sesame powder.
What dishes can this powder be used in, and does it replace any other spices? If I use this mix, what spices would I leave out or cut back on? (I am not up to making sambar yet, but I'd think this powder would be used for any sort of dish calling for a rich flavor. Would it be appropriate for a channa or toor dal?) Can I still use cilantro?
I know that using fresh curry leaves is the best way to go, but for a beginner like myself, a mix like this will at least get me acquainted with the flavor and adding it to dishes.
The directions on the box say: "add ghee/edible oil to Priya curry leaf powder, your favourite side dish for rice, idli, dosa, vada or any other snack is ready. Do these instructions mean, heat ghee, then gently fry the powder, then add the other ingredients for your side dish, and enjoy with one of the starchy dishes like rice, idli, etc.??
If the packages are not opened, how long can they be stored for? I have had some powders in unopened plastic packages for years. Even my dried cilantro which I have had for years in a bottle (and rarely used, in place of fresh) still smells the same as it did years ago!!! I normally only toss these things only when they start changing colors or lose their smell. I guess that once the package of this curry leaf powder is opened, I should put the powder in a glass container for storage. (I do see some of my Indian neighbors going to the Indian grocery store near me and buying some of these masala mixes, telling me that they would rather make their dishes this way then do everything from scratch - too time consuming.)
Long time no see Felafelboy!
South Indians, Gujrati and Maharshtri people use it in many of their dishes. Apart from good flavour, it also has health benefits. They are known as Murraya koenigii Spreng, ?meetha or sweet Neem? in North India, where I come from. The Other neem is the bitter neem, which is also very medicinal. The leaves of both neems have calcium, phosphorous, iron, nicotinic acid and vitamin C and believed to be a strong blood purifier, restoring degenerated blood cells. I remember that we used to have to drink ground Neem leaves in water to get rid of pimples/zits that came with youth!! Eaten regularly, these leaves strengthen the liver, spleen and pancreas and increase. Green leaves, eaten raw, help digestion and reduce nausea, heartburn, diarrhoea and dysentery. An infusion made from leaves helps to stops vomiting as well as restores hydration. It?s bark and the roots are used by many Ayurvedic physicians to cure skin lesions and bites of poisonous animals.
Powder is no substitute for leaves. I buy fresh leaves, clean and towel dry them and then keep them in a freezer in a plastic bag. They last well for quite a while. I can?t tell you about this powder that you have, but fresh curry leaves can be added to most curries (with gravy), as well as dry vegetable bhajies. Basically, heat oil, add mustard seeds (mustard seeds go better with curry leaves than cumin), and proceed as normal. They are especially nice in fish curries, in my view. You can also add them to all dals, delicious! Toor dal is lovely with them, South Indian Toor dal is called sambhar, I have a couple of recipes on this site, take a look. I am sure they will be fine in Chickpeas too, any curry really.
Yes you can use cilantro in dishes cooked with curry leaves.
From your description, your powder sound like something called Gun Powder, which many South Indian eat as a powder/mixed with oil/ghee with rice, Idlies, yoghurt etc.
See the discussion under ?Making a "Curry Paste"??? for use of curry pastes/powder vs different spices of your own choice.
Mamta
Yes, Mamta. That is exactly what this powder is!
I sought a more convenient powder substitute for the curry leaf, but it seems like this powder mixture, is as you said, to be used with the idli, vada, etc.
I didn't know that the curry leaves can be frozen for future use, so I will do that and use the leaves as needed for use in a dal or in a stew. I will fry the leaf first as you suggested.
Another poster suggested crumbling the leaf to release the flavors. Once crumbled, the leaf cannot be removed from the dish, so I assume the leaf is ok to eat, since it will be cooked. I normally removed the leaf when I see it in a dish at the restaurant (or simply don't eat it).
Since I don't make dosas, vadas, idlis at home, I have no use for this curry powder assuming that it is to be used only with those kinds of foods.
When I made dosas in the past, I made them from a boxed mix, and just ate them with a fried mixture of curried onions, green chili, and a few other vegetables.
Try your powder with bread, that should be nice. After all, Idli and dosa are the Indiean version of staple foods.
The suggestion was made to freezer curry leaves.
I was told that they turn black. I doubt it would change their taste.
I just started freezing celery leaves for future use in soups and noticed that they, too, became a darker green.
I returned the unopened box of the curry powder mix, so I will not have a chance to try your suggestion about sprinkling on bread. I had no idea what to do with it!!! I thought it was to be cooked in ghee and that it flavored the mixture. I didn't know you could just sprinkle it on bread, like what I do when I spread butter on bread and then sprinkle cinnamon on it!!
The most common way to eat that curry leaf powder is to mix it with some oil or ghee and eat it with rice. Sprinkle some of the powder on hot rice and then add the oil or ghee and mix well. It is a kind of Indian "fast food" to eat when you come home and you don't have time to fix anything that takes time. I always keep my curry leaves in sealed plastic bags in the freezer, although they will slowly loose their taste after several months. If you really like the taste of curry leaves, you can buy a box of the plain dried curry leaves and powder them and mix them in curry powder. I also keep my curry powder in the freezer. If you are ever interested in some more of these powders to be used as fast food, let me know and I will be glad to share the recipes. The curry leaf powder can be made from scratch, but the kind in the box that you are speaking of is not bad for an instant product.