Curry leaves (aka Kadi Patta), whether you buy them from the store or have a plant, are a precious commodity. Watch the video to learn a simple way to dry and preserve them for later use.
Before you ask a question, we request you to scan the comments section to see if your question has been answered before. This will help reduce duplicate questions and the need to repeat the answers. We appreciate your support on this.
Liked your tip for preserving curry leaves.
Question. After you have dried the leaves in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and then placed them inside a jar do you place the jar of preserved leaves in the refrigerator or leave the jar of preserved leaves outside the refrigerator ?
I have used curry leaves that were dried out in the sun on previous occasion, but they have no flavor. Do leaves dried in this manner retain their great flavor? I usually freeze my curry leaves – and while the color is usually not that great, the flavor is definitely retained.
Hi Hetal,
Thats a nice tip. I have a question. Where did you get the curry leaf plant from? I stay in an apartment in the US. Is it possible for me to have a curry leaf plant in a pot? Please share some gardening tips too.
A lot of larger Indian stores sell Curry Leaf plant or if you know someone who has one, you can get a sapling from them and replant it in a pot/planter.
A planter/pot works best for this plant because it can’t handle extreme cold…so if it is in a planter, it is easlier to bring into the house if it gets too cold.
Hope that helps!
Thanks anuja. At present i dont have any friends who have this plant or know of any indian stores that sell the plant. I’ll continue to hunt for one though. Do you know of any online websites from where i can get it?
hi hetal and anuja,
i used to dry in a different way,wash the leaves,and keep in a paper towel till the water is dried and then microwave for 2to 3 min,spreading the leaves .
hi,
just give a try ,u will get the same ,this can be done in a day .i used to dry methi also the same way .i use to dry it out in my method and use it for idli podi ,sambar etc.curry leaves it might take 3min ,fenugreek leaves 2min.
hi.
just a simple method that i tried. just wash the leaves. pat it with paper towel to dry the water. store it airtight container, and keep it in refrigerator. its already two months n still the leaves looking fresh. and the flavour just great.
If the leaves are dry, you can bring them from India. They do take up a lot of space though in your suitcase (although very light) and may crush in transport. Once dried, you can use them for months.
Nice tip. I use the “paneer maker” (small stainless steel container with lid having many small holes around)to keep curry leaves and store in the refrigerator and use it as and when required. I use to store green chills too. The color, fragrance and other food qualities will be unchanged.
You people are doing a great job. Thanks a lot.
May GOD bless you.
I tried making the khandvi but it did not set so that I could roll it. I followed your you tube video exactly. I even tried heating it up in the oven and the mixture still remained damp. What could I have done?
I love your show! Your tips as well as receipies are simple and easy to follow.
Recently I brought peeled garlic cloves from grocery store and have stored in freezer do you have any better tip? Problem with this one is it becomes too stiff and loses some taste.
Actually, peeled garlic is less potent than fresh garlic that you peel at home. I heard somewhere that they soak the garlic in water to make the peels come off easily. This soaking process makes the garlic less flavorful. Again, this is something I heard so I am not positive it is correct but I can vouch for the the fact that I have to use twice as much of it as the normal garlic.
Having said this, freezing it might remove even more flavor. If you have some time, you can peel fresh garlic at home in bulk and then grind it in the food processor. Take a baking sheet lined with foil and measure out teaspoons or tablespoons of the garlic onto the pan. Freeze it for an hour or two and then transfer it to freezer ziploc bags. It will be preserved, ready to use and in the portions that you need. This trick works great for ginger as well.
Definitely bring it indoors before the first frost comes. The plant goes into dormancy so what we do is take all the leaves off and dry them for the winter. If you have multiple plants, you can keep one with the leaves on to provided fresh leaves as long as possible.
Once the plant goes into dormancy, you don’t have to do anything to it. My plant stays in my garage in the dark for the whole winter. In the spring, new leaves come out. One thing you can do is to prune off excess branches so that the plant does not become top heavy the next spring.
Before you ask a question, we request you to scan the comments section to see if your question has been answered before. This will help reduce duplicate questions and the need to repeat the answers. We appreciate your support on this.
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April 21st, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Hi Hetal and Anuja,
Liked your tip for preserving curry leaves.
Question. After you have dried the leaves in the refrigerator for 4-5 days and then placed them inside a jar do you place the jar of preserved leaves in the refrigerator or leave the jar of preserved leaves outside the refrigerator ?
Thanks.
Jayshree Shelat-Bhatt
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
April 21st, 2009 at 8:22 pm
You can leave it on your pantry shelf.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I have used curry leaves that were dried out in the sun on previous occasion, but they have no flavor. Do leaves dried in this manner retain their great flavor? I usually freeze my curry leaves – and while the color is usually not that great, the flavor is definitely retained.
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
April 21st, 2009 at 8:22 pm
The flavor is not as strong as fresh, but it’s still there. We have not tried to freeze them so are unable to compare the 2 methods.
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
fantastic
[Reply]
April 21st, 2009 at 11:29 pm
Hi Hetal,
Thats a nice tip. I have a question. Where did you get the curry leaf plant from? I stay in an apartment in the US. Is it possible for me to have a curry leaf plant in a pot? Please share some gardening tips too.
Lilly
[Reply]
anuja Reply:
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:32 am
A lot of larger Indian stores sell Curry Leaf plant or if you know someone who has one, you can get a sapling from them and replant it in a pot/planter.
A planter/pot works best for this plant because it can’t handle extreme cold…so if it is in a planter, it is easlier to bring into the house if it gets too cold.
Hope that helps!
[Reply]
Lilly Reply:
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:40 pm
Thanks anuja. At present i dont have any friends who have this plant or know of any indian stores that sell the plant. I’ll continue to hunt for one though. Do you know of any online websites from where i can get it?
[Reply]
Meena Reply:
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Lilly…wwww.logees.com….Connecticut based nursery online sells it ! Good Luck
anuja Reply:
April 28th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Thanks Meena for the info.
Lilly, here is the link:
http://www.logees.com/prodinfo.asp?number=R1443-2
Hope that helps!
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:41 pm
hi hetal and anuja,
i used to dry in a different way,wash the leaves,and keep in a paper towel till the water is dried and then microwave for 2to 3 min,spreading the leaves .
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:49 pm
Hi Annam,
Interesting method. We’ve never tried it, but doesn’t the heat cook the leaves?
[Reply]
April 23rd, 2009 at 4:18 am
hi,
just give a try ,u will get the same ,this can be done in a day .i used to dry methi also the same way .i use to dry it out in my method and use it for idli podi ,sambar etc.curry leaves it might take 3min ,fenugreek leaves 2min.
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:04 pm
Will do. Thanks!
[Reply]
April 24th, 2009 at 7:20 am
Hi hetal and anuja,
this tip is too good.I need u r help.
plz tel me how to Preserv Betel Leaves.
plz post tip as soon as possibel for me.
ok take care
bye
[Reply]
April 26th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Thanks for this excellent tip.
Storing curry leaves have always been a problem for me..
I will try this tip for sure !
Rgds
Siri
[Reply]
May 1st, 2009 at 12:47 pm
thanks Hetal & Anuja
u saved my $$$$
[Reply]
May 15th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
hi.
just a simple method that i tried. just wash the leaves. pat it with paper towel to dry the water. store it airtight container, and keep it in refrigerator. its already two months n still the leaves looking fresh. and the flavour just great.
[Reply]
May 24th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
hi
can i preserve the curry leaves in india and can i bring here by the same method.how long it will be fresh
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
May 25th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
If the leaves are dry, you can bring them from India. They do take up a lot of space though in your suitcase (although very light) and may crush in transport. Once dried, you can use them for months.
[Reply]
June 11th, 2009 at 3:43 am
Nice tip. I use the “paneer maker” (small stainless steel container with lid having many small holes around)to keep curry leaves and store in the refrigerator and use it as and when required. I use to store green chills too. The color, fragrance and other food qualities will be unchanged.
You people are doing a great job. Thanks a lot.
May GOD bless you.
[Reply]
anuja Reply:
June 11th, 2009 at 5:30 am
Really, I have one of those containers and they just don’t work for me:( I will give it another shot.
[Reply]
June 11th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
I tried making the khandvi but it did not set so that I could roll it. I followed your you tube video exactly. I even tried heating it up in the oven and the mixture still remained damp. What could I have done?
[Reply]
August 2nd, 2009 at 3:15 am
Hi Hetal & Anuja
I love your show! Your tips as well as receipies are simple and easy to follow.
Recently I brought peeled garlic cloves from grocery store and have stored in freezer do you have any better tip? Problem with this one is it becomes too stiff and loses some taste.
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
August 4th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Hi Namrata,
Actually, peeled garlic is less potent than fresh garlic that you peel at home. I heard somewhere that they soak the garlic in water to make the peels come off easily. This soaking process makes the garlic less flavorful. Again, this is something I heard so I am not positive it is correct but I can vouch for the the fact that I have to use twice as much of it as the normal garlic.
Having said this, freezing it might remove even more flavor. If you have some time, you can peel fresh garlic at home in bulk and then grind it in the food processor. Take a baking sheet lined with foil and measure out teaspoons or tablespoons of the garlic onto the pan. Freeze it for an hour or two and then transfer it to freezer ziploc bags. It will be preserved, ready to use and in the portions that you need. This trick works great for ginger as well.
[Reply]
Namrata Reply:
August 6th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Thanks! Will surely try!
[Reply]
October 16th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I have curry leaf plant which i have kept in patio.Now winter has started so should i keep it indoors or outdoors?Kindly suggest.
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
October 16th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Hi Resh,
Definitely bring it indoors before the first frost comes. The plant goes into dormancy so what we do is take all the leaves off and dry them for the winter. If you have multiple plants, you can keep one with the leaves on to provided fresh leaves as long as possible.
[Reply]
resh Reply:
October 18th, 2009 at 8:37 pm
Thanks Hetal.
But while keeping it indoors do i have to take any special care bec it wont get any light.
[Reply]
hetal Reply:
October 19th, 2009 at 1:31 am
Once the plant goes into dormancy, you don’t have to do anything to it. My plant stays in my garage in the dark for the whole winter. In the spring, new leaves come out. One thing you can do is to prune off excess branches so that the plant does not become top heavy the next spring.