Curry Tree Plant (Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii)

Description

This tree is perfect for New Orleans. I think that I first saw it in the garden of Andreas Hoffman of Greenlight fame, near Earhart and Leonidas, down the street from where T.I. shot the video for Ball and Lil’ Wayne played around on a skateboard all day.

Nothing about this plant is Lil’. It thrives in our summers and does not know drought. It’ll put a healing on you, too!

Hailing from India, the leaves are used to make many dishes throughout the world, most notably a goat curry. Do not confuse this with the curry you traditionally know. That is turmeric and peppers and other spices.

Murraya koenigii or Bergera koenigii is its own nutrient punch, loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. 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.

The fresh leaves are valued as seasoning in the cuisines of South and Southeast Asia. In Cambodia, where the leaves are called sloek kontroap, the leaves are roasted and used as an ingredient in a soup, maju krueng.

In Java, the leaves are often stewed to flavor gulai. Though available dried, the aroma and flavor is greatly inferior. The oil can be extracted and used to make scented soaps.

The leaves of Murraya koenigii are also used as a herb in Ayurvedic and Siddha medicine in which they are believed to possess anti-disease properties.

Let’s get our chefs using what grows in abundance. Report back!