Freezing curry leaves is by far the best way of preserving them. Using the leaves dry tends to lose some of that delicate, aromatic fragrance that fresh curry leaves have. My preference is to freeze some whenever I have a supply of fresh curry leaves.
How to Freeze Fresh Curry Leaves
- Remove the leaves form the stalks
- Discard any spoilt leaves
- Wash thoroughly under cold water
- Spread the leaves out on some kitchen roll to dry
- Once dry simply place in a zip lock bag in the freezer
It is important to use a zip lock freezer bag to store the leaves in. Without a bag the leaves are prone to drying out and losing long term flavour.
To use frozen curry leaves simply remove as many as you need from the freezer and add to the pan. There is no need to defrost the leaves first.
How Else to Preserve Curry Leaves
The other common way to preserve curry leaves is to dry them. This can be done either in a food dehydrator or by simply spreading the fresh leaves out on a large tray and leaving the to dry in a warm room with good airflow. When the leaves are crisp and break instead of bending they are ready. Store them in an airtight container and they should last over a year.
While dried curry leaves are argably more convenient to store and use, I much prefer feezing them. I find frozen curry leaves is much better at preserving the fresh aromatic flavours.
Can you grow your own curry leaves?
Here in the UK I have had mixed success in the past when it comes to taking cuttings from fresh curry leaves that have been bought from the local Indian supermarket. A few cuttings that I have made in the past have taken however the plants have never really prospered.
Much more successful was buying a small plant from a UK supplier. The small plant arrived in the post in the depths of last winter and now spring is here it as started to put on some good growth!
While they are freezing should the leaves be separated and spread out or can you literally just fill a bag with fresh leaves and chuck it in the freezer?
This is blowing my mind how uncommon it is to see this freezer method. Essentially every one else is either drying them before storing or storing fresh in the fridge for max 10 days. Why don’t more people mention this? It seems far better in terms of retaining flavor and storage life.
So long as they are not wet beforehand just stick them in a bag in the freezer. If they are wet prior to freezing they will likly stick together when frozen. Enjoy the tip!
I purchased a Murraya Koenigi curry leaf plant from a nursery back in around 2010. It’s still going strong. I prune it right back for the winter, and overwinter the plant indoors. Come the spring, it goes outside and flourishes year after year. Fresh leaves are the best and I freeze the harvested leaves before the winter prune.
I have just been given a large bag of curry leaves from the owner of my local liquor store, Mita, along with a curry leaf plant, so i will let the leaves dry and i will freeze them, and step up my plant into a bigger pot, thanks for the advice and thanks again Mita for presents.
Ronald – Don’t dry the leaves. For the best results simply take the leaves off the stems, wash them and freeze them fresh!