What are curry leaves and where can you buy them?

|cut-rey leaves |

Adam Bush

Published: May 1, 2020 at 12:02 AM

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Discover what curry leaves are, where to shop for them, and how to use them in our ingredient glossary

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What are curry leaves?

Curry leaves are the shiny, dark green, aromatic leaves of a tree from the citrus fruit family. They release a deliciously nutty aroma when fried in hot oil and are a staple of South Indian cooking. Curry leaves can be bought fresh or dried, with the former having far more aroma.

Where to buy curry leaves

Fresh Curry Leaves £2.09/15g, Red Rickshaw

Rajah Curry Leaves, £2.43/10g, Amazon

Recipes with curry leaves

Hirwa kolambi kalwan

Try our vibrant green coconut prawn curry with chilli, coriander and curry leaves. We've used shell-on prawns as they add so much flavour, although you could make this with shelled prawns as well.

Kolamba’s chicken curry

Make this your go-to special chicken curry. Straight from the kitchen of London's Kolamba restaurant, this Sri Lankan recipe uses oodles of fresh spices and a homemade roasted curry powder.