Curry Plant is widely used for its culinary and medicinal properties. It is considered an important ingredient in South Indian and Sri lankan cuisine. It is Fresh and pleasant and enhances the taste of the dish in which they are used.


Origin
The curry leaf is native to India and is found nearly everywhere in the Indian subcontinent. It is also found in Srilanka and many parts of south East Asia including Indonesia, Burma, Thailand, etc.

Cultivation
The curry leaf plant is planted just before the arrival of the monsoon in May. It is cultivated using propagation method. The plants mature after fifteen months after which the leaves are harvested. Fully grown curry tree can yield nearly 100 k.g of leaves each year.

Forms of Curry Plant/Leaf

• Fresh
• Dried and powdered

Trade in Curry Leaf/Plant
India is the largest producer and consumer of curry leaf. Burma, Malaysia, South Africa are also the producing curry leaf. The Southern state of Tamil Nadu is one of the major curry leaf producing area. The trade in the spice is limited to few Asian countries. There are no specific trade figures of exports from India.

Use of Curry Leaf/Plant
Food
The plant is widely used in South Indian states for flavoring various dishes. It is also used for its aroma in Srilanka. The leaves can be taken raw or sauted. The leaves are used in fresh or dried form for flavouring curries, vegetable, fish and meat dishes, soups pickles, butter milk preparations, chutneys.

Medicinal Use
The spice is said to have many medicinal properties. It is used in the traditional medicinal system for improving the digestive system, skin conditions and as a treatment for diabetes.

Chemical Properties
The chemical composition of Curry leaf or plant defines the aroma and the taste. Following are the chemical composition or the constituents of the curry leaf:

Aroma Constituents
The aroma components consist of ß-caryophyllene, ß-gurjunene, ß-trans-ocimene, ß-thujene a-selinene, ß-bisabolene, furthermore limonene, ß-elemene, ß-phellandrene and ß-cadinene.

Essential Oil Components
The essential constituents of curry leaf are: monoterpenes including ß-phellandrene, a-pinene, ß-pinene. In some species sesquiterpenes is then main constituents.

History of Curry Leaf Curry leaves are mentioned in ancient Indian text. The Tamil literature specifically mentions about their use and importance. The use of curry in Indian food has also been mentioned in Ancient Kannada text. In south India Curry leaves are known by the name of kari-pattha. In modern period Britishers used curry powder to give their food an Indian taste.

Curry Leaf Powder
Curry leaf powder or curry powder is a combination of many ingredients like ginger, chilli, pepper, cumin, black coriander, garlic, fenugreek, and turmeric to give the yellow color. Curry powder is a British invention.Some curry powders though include curry leaves but the leaves loose their fragrance within few days hence it makes hardly any difference. It is the toasted cumin, toasted coriander, black pepper, chilies and toasted fenugreek that gives the taste to the curry powder.