SC - curry leaves?
LrdRas at aol.com
LrdRas at aol.com
Sun Jun 13 06:17:57 PDT 1999
In a message dated 6/13/99 5:55:19 AM Eastern Daylight Time, nannar at isholf.is
writes:
<< Curry leaves (Murraya koenigii) which we are discussing here and the herb
>known as 'curry' are 2 different plants entirely. They are not
interchangeable
>in cookery. Sure about that? >>
Yes, "From a plant native to southern Asia, this fragrant herb looks like a
small, shiny lemon leaf and has a pungent curry fragrance. Quote Epicurious
Food site."
This plant is not the same thing as the plant described by someone else on
the list as a curry plant which had needle-like leaves.
<<Every book and source I´ve consulted only mentions one
herb, which is curry leaves (Murraya or Chalcas koenigii). However, my
Indian ingredients book says it can be either a shrub (or even a windowsill
plant) or a 6 meter high tree, but it is still the same plant. >>
There are two different plants that are referred to as 'curry plants'. One is
Murraya koenegii which is the curry leaf plant that is used in Indian cooking
and as a cooking herb. This is a small tropical tree which can grow up to 6
feet in height in its natural habitat. It is not hardy in northern gardening
zones.
The other so-called 'curry plant' is Helichrysum angustifolium which smells
like the curry leaf but is not used in cooking. It has leaves similar to pine
needles or, more closely thyme leaves. This is most often the plant that
people grow in their herb gardens.
<<Curry powder is something entirely different,...>>
Correct. Each Indian recipe has it's own particular blend of spices.
Somewhere along the way, an enterprising businessman decided to standardize
this blend and market it as 'curry powder.' Most pre-made curry powders are
unbalanced and produce foul tasting food although I do have a commercially
produced Jamaican curry powder that is a very nice blend which I use in
specific personal non-Indian dishes for a touch of the exotic occasionally.
Anyway, the curry leaf that is similar to lemon leaves in appearance is the
culinary herb. That plant which has the needle-like leaves is not the
culinary herb.
<< Nanna
>>
Yours in Service to the Dream,
Ras
============================================================================
To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".
============================================================================
More information about the Sca-cooks
mailing list