Pantry guide
Best Curry leaf for home cooking
What Curry leaf is for, which kitchens use it, and where to find a jar worth cooking with.
Why cooks start here
The South Indian tadka leaf — popped in oil until the kitchen smells like breakfast.
In the International Cuisines books, Curry leaf is not decoration. Add it where the recipe puts it: early if it needs fat and time, late if it is perfume.
Taste Curry leaf before you empty the spoon. Fresh jars smell like themselves; tired ones smell like dust. Buy the smallest amount you will finish.