Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Malaysian Curry Plant - Murraya koenigii

I've been making curry lately and wanted to show you the curry leaves I use.

Murraya koenigii is the name of the plant!

This is our curry plant.  It was grown from a cutting about 5 years ago and is now enormous!  I wasn't sure it would survive in Melbourne but it has flourished despite our cold winters!  We did have to relocate it to my mums place when we moved a few years ago but it is still flourishing frost and all.

It loves full sun.  The leaves have a wonderful subtle nutty smell when you crush or rub them, but don't smell unless you do.
Warning:  Whilst the fruit is edible, the seeds are posionous so don't eat them!!

If growing from seed, you have to plant the fruit whole as it won't germinate if grown from dried or shriveled seeds.  Still the best is to get a seedling.  I recently saw a tiny tiny plant measuring no more than 10 cm tall selling for $15.  Scandalous!


The flowers are small white and fragrant.


A funny story and I wish I could find the old photos, a year ago little old Chinese ladies (the neighbours saw them but never in time to catch them) kept driving past, jumping out and hacking into the plant and dashing away again.  My mum was so annoyed that she set up a neighbourhood watch for the thieves and set a little chicken wire fence around the plant with a big sign saying 'DO NOT STEAL. IF YOU WANT SOME RING THE DOORBELL AND ASK NICELY'.

I'll try to dig up that old photo :)

From time to time she still does get drive by stealings of the curry plant but she doesn't mind too much as long as they don't hack into the plant and destroy it.

The leaves go wonderfully well with kaffir lime leaves!...


...to make a yummy Malaysian style bean and eggplant curry like this:


Have a lovely tuesday everyone!  Hope you encounter and scoff down something yummy!

8 comments:

  1. What a gorgeous tree!!! I would love to grow something like that, but with our frosts, it would never stand a chance. Our Kaffir Lime tree has survived, but only because it is in a big pot and I move it around ALOT to avoid the wind, capture as much sun as possible and in and out of the rain. She is hard work, but sooooo worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, I have one in a pot which is positively stunted compared to that, I had no idea they could get so big.

    They are ridiculously expensive, I got mine in a market for a reasonable price but I have seen them in garden centres at ridiculous cost. I often give the seedlings that pop up around the parent away to friends.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Recipe for gorgeous curry, pweeease? Curry is considered a major food group in our household...as a curry is currently quietly simmering on the stovetop as I type....and don´t even get me started on HH´s plan for the World Curry Tour.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Daffodil!

    I sometimes fry up sliced potatoes to add in with the eggplant in the end.

    First I fry with oil and butter:
    2 big onions sliced
    4 cloves garlic peeled and squashed with flat of a knife
    Big bit of ginger sliced
    Big but of galangal sliced
    2 tbpn chilli powder, 2 tbpn turmeric, 1 tbpn coriander powder sometimes more you know what it's like! Whatever the magic feels like!

    Then I add eggplant, beans, tin of tomatoes or fresh or whatever I've got! and cinnamon sticks, lots of lime leaves, lots of curry leaves and lemon grass and add a bit of stock if it's dry. You can add chicken pieces too but I don't eat much meat. I simmer it and stir to stop the sticking...and that's it!! I might add coconut cream/milk at the end and gently simmer. Yummy

    ReplyDelete
  5. The curry leaf is a great plant to have in one's garden. we cook curries and it is so handy to just pluck a few leaves for that lovely aroma.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is an amazing big curry tree! I wish I have one as well. I always get some curry leaves from community fruit and veggie swap that has been going every saturday this year until easter.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I didn't know the curry leaf bush could really be so big! They can really make a dish can't they...

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a beautiful plant! I know it wouldn't survive the winter in my area, but I wonder if I could over-winter it indoors? I love cooking with curry, it would be wonderful to have it fresh :)

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for leaving me a comment!!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...