Curry Leaves

Curry leaves/Karibevina soppu(Kannada)/Karivepilai(Tamil)/Karivepaku(Telugu)/Kadi patta(Hindi)


When you find it in food...DO NOT THROW IT!!EAT IT!!
High in Iron content...its is nutritious apart from its aroma!!
Curry leaf is a small deciduous tree. The subtle flavouring of this highly aromatic spice fills Indian cuisines.
Curry leaf grows profusely throughout India. It is commonly found in forests as a gregarious undergrowth along the foot of the Himalayas, Sikkim and Assam, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Kerala, Orissa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The trees are maintained as homestead gardens in Kerala, or as leaf farms in Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa.
Curry leaves are added to food to enhance flavour. They are generally shallow-fried with mustard seeds and chopped onion, and poured over the dishes. Special chutneys are made with fried or roasted curry leaves to stimulate appetite.
The leaves, bark and the root of the plant are used in indigenous medicine as a tonic, stimulant and carminative. They are also used to cure eruptions and the bites of poisonous animals. Its leaves are highly aromatic and are used as an herb. Their form is small and narrow and they somewhat resemble the leaves of the Neem tree; therefore they are also referred to as Kari Baavu (translated to Black Neem) in the Kannada and Karivepaku in Telugu, again translating to the same meaning. In Tamil and Malayalam it is known as Karuveppilai, ilai meaning leaves and veppilai meaning Neem leaf. Other names include Kari Patta (Hindi), Kadhi Limb (Marathi), Limda(Gujarati) and Karapincha (Sinhalese).