Category Archives: Rutaceae

Curry Leaf

Common name: Curry Leaf • Hindi: Kari patta

A special ingredient in Indian cooking and in particular South Indian cooking .  When you have a tree in the backyard, the fresh leaves add to the flavour of the dish.  But most of us depend on the local store and therefore it may not be at its ‘freshest best’.

 It is a small tree, growing 4-6 m tall.  The flowers are small and fragrant.  ( seen clearly in the picture above – photographed by Sa at Warangal).  It has small berries which are edible, but the seeds are poisonous. 

Botanical name: Bergera koenigii    Family: Rutaceae (Citrus family)

Picture to the right taken at SIL’s backyard at Sainikpuri, Secunderabad.