Indian Name: Kari patta
Scientific Name: Murraya koenigii
Family: Rutaceae (citrus family).

Other Names

Hindi name: Kari patta
Tamil name: Kariveppilai
Gujarati name: Mitho Limdo
Malay name: Daun kari
Chinese name: Gālí yè (Mandarin)/ Ka lei yip (Cantonese) 咖喱叶
Spanish: hojas de curry
Russian: listya karri
Portuguese: folhas de caril
German: curryblatter
French: feuilles de curry

Derived from the Tamil word “Kari” meaning spicy, curry leaves are mentioned in ancient Tamil scriptures dating back to the 4th century AD for its amazing benefits and culinary significance.

Curry Leaves, also called Karipatta, are a must-have in South Indian cooking. You’ll even find these leaves being used in Sri Lankan, Cambodian, and Malaysian cooking. These wonderful leaves have a discernible nutty aroma, with slight notes of anise and citrus, and numerous health benefits. Keep reading to learn all about how to use, store, and enjoy curry leaves!

Curry Leaves, that quintessential aromatic ingredient, found in the Indian households have innumerable health and therapeutic benefits. This tree being indigenous to India, Srilanka and many South east Asian countries is known by several vernacular names such as Kadi Patta or Meetha Neem in Hindi, Kariveppilai in Tamil, Karivepaaku in Tamil or Karivempu in Malayalam.

The most popular way to use curry leaves is by adding them to your cooking, specifically when tempering for dals or curries. They are typically added along with mustard seeds, and green chilies initially, before adding other ingredients.

The fresh leaves are an indispensable part of Indian cuisine and Indian traditional medicines. They are most widely used in southern and west coast Indian cooking, usually fried along with vegetable oil, mustard seeds and chopped onions in the first stage of the preparation. They are also used to make thoran, vada, rasam and kadhi.